


Qamar

by secondsongbird



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alpha Ra's al Ghul, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Tim Drake, Breeding, Forced Pregnancy, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Intersex Omegas, M/M, Omega Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-09-27 18:25:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 39,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17167046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secondsongbird/pseuds/secondsongbird
Summary: Tim jerked forcefully without meaning to. He was pretty sure he’d torn the skin of his wrists in their holders, chafed them raw.He wasn’t an alpha or an omega, wasn’t really dictated by millions of years of hardwired instinct in his day to day, but right now, he wanted nothing more than to go for Ra’s throat.“There’s no need to worry. I don’t intend to separate them from their mother. I’ve grown rather fond of this one, in our time together,” Ra’s wet his lips. “Perhaps it doesn't seem like it, but this is an honor. I am quite particular about who I allow to carry to term. Overpopulation is a problem, and it’s rare to find omegas of real substance. Though, if I were the type to be ruled by my designation, his cunt alone could have solidified his value.”The alpha had grinned, wickedly triumphant. Then he took Jason’s neck in his jaws, reopening the bite he’d been tracing, and a single drop of blood slid onto Tim’s cheek.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'd unless you want to count poor Tim

  
It was the sound that roused Tim from sleep, echoed, breathy, wet noises tugging at his consciousness. Tim furrowed his brow, and as he tried, unsuccessfully, to sit up, the world spun. His head felt like a balloon, ready to float away from his body at any moment. It made what he heard and saw distorted and blurry. Shapes, moving against each other, right over him where he lay. The air was warm and thick, layered with incense, and a pleasant musk.  
  
An omega, he thought, dazedly, though he was unable to follow the thread to any logical conclusion about why and how he found himself in this situation. The last thing he remembered...  
  
There was a particularly harsh movement followed by a sharp cry, and ripped from thought, Tim blinked, focusing on the person above him. Only their chest was directly in his view, supple pectorals heaving every time they breathed or were rocked by another movement, though to Tim’s adjusting gaze, the scene seemed to go in slow motion. Their skin was covered in a mist of sweat, littered with scars of varying shapes and sizes.  
  
They were uncommonly large for an omega, made up almost entirely of hard muscle. But they still smelled mouthwateringly good, undeniably the source of the intoxicating scent.  
  
Even as a beta, every breath made Tim feel as though he’d swallowed a particularly strong wine, but as he unconsciously parted his lips to pull in more, his teeth met a specialty leather gag.  
  
“Ah, young detective. Finally, you’re awake,” Like being dunked in ice water, the voice alone was enough to sober him, and Tim tried to pull himself into a defensive position, before realizing his hands—all his limbs— were bound to separate bed posts in leather mitts, leaving him spread eagle and unable to use his appendages. He was naked, spare the gag, a collar, and the thin robe tied at his middle, though it was opened on him so much he might as well not have been wearing it, his chest and lower half exposed. His cock stood at attention, embarrassingly hard.  
  
He was covered in bruises, he assumed from being ambushed, though he felt no pain, gently blanketed in the omegas cloud of pheromones.  
  
“Ra’s,” he tried to hiss, but the gag stopped him, so he settled for glaring at the older man instead. Every breath in the small space muddled his ability to think clearly, threatened to lull him into passivity. He needed to figure a way out of this, quickly, before it was too late.  
  
Ra’s just smirked at him, like he’d already won. He looked young, virile, stunk of a potent alpha on the cusp of a full blown rut, probably very newly rebirthed from the pit. “I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your ‘spark’, Timothy. I was starting to worry, when I managed to breed your desired mate so vigorously without you so much as stirring.“  
  
Mate? Tim’s brow pinched, giving away his confusion.  
  
Ra’s bared his teeth in a chilling smile, before rearranging the omega so Tim could see their face. His throat went desert dry.  
  
Jason, arms bound behind his back, weight supported mostly by Ra’s as far as he could tell, loomed over him, eyes covered with a leather blindfold. He was wearing a similar collar to Tim’s, though thinner, leaving his scent glands accessible, and Tim noticed in horror, the plentiful red teeth marks adorning Jason’s skin.  
  
Claiming marks.  
  
“Or maybe you finally allowed yourself to relax, knowing he was nearby, even in sleep? You were looking a bit ragged, when you were brought here. It’s probably for the best, that you are well rested. You'll need your strength.” Ra’s mused, rubbing his chin. Then he looked right at Tim. “Tell me, young detective, how does it feel to know while you slept unhindered, your lover was seeded by another?”  
  
Unable to help himself, Tim’s eyes traveled lower. Though he’d been able to figure as much, the visual confirmation that Ra’s was inside Jason made him feel sick. Even at this angle, he could see where Jason’s was speared open by his fat cock. As if noticing where his attentions were, and wanting to make the realization as agonizing as possible, Ra’s pulled out to the tip with a lewd squelch, highlighting how hard he was, how wet with Jason’s fluid and Ra’s previous batches of cum.  
  
Jason groaned a bit, but did nothing.  
  
“If it eases your pain at all, I think having you nearby has been a comfort to him as well. He’s been much easier to bed, since you arrived. Though, it could simply be because he nears the second peak of his heat,”  
  
Tim tried to say Jason’s name, reach for him, but the gag and restraints again stopped him.  
  
Of course.  
  
How could he forget?  
  
Jason. He’d been looking for Jason.  
  
Jason, who no one had seen in weeks, who’d disappeared off the face of the earth without a trace, vanished into thin air like a ghost. He’d been so worried, he hadn’t been able to sleep, hadn’t been able to do much of anything but search, albeit aimlessly. Stupid, he thought, suddenly angry at himself. Sloppy. Probably the exact reaction Ra’s had hoped for, planned to prey upon.  
  
The bats bad habit to fall into obsession and self destruction the minute one of their own was targeted.  
  
Jason made an inquisitive sound at Tim’s muffled calls, but then Ra’s took a fistful of hair and impaled him on his cock again, wrenching the sweetest cry Tim never could’ve imagined coming from the other man.  
  
Tim went completely still, shell shocked.  
  
For all his detective skills, discovering Jason was an omega wasn’t something he’d deduced or searched out. He never even would have thought to consider it a possibility. The information had simply fallen into his lap, like it was supposed to be obvious. A bottle of suppressants, accidentally left out in the open when Jason had stayed at the manor overnight to work on a case. But it had been so alien, he couldn’t connect the concepts, even after they’d been firmly cemented in reality.  
  
There wasn’t a single part of Jason that gave away his secondary sex. As Robin, he’d been smaller than average, but utterly unreadable in designation, an early life of scarcity stunting his development in more ways than one.  
  
And by the time he’d returned, everything from his build to his disposition, even his scent, screamed ‘alpha’. He never showed anyone his exposed belly, and he had a tendency to nip anyone who tried to show him theirs.  
  
Seeing his face, melted in wanton pleasure, openly needy, completely vulnerable...made Tim feel like he’d seen something utterly, horrifically private, been force fed a forbidden fruit.  
  
Tim’s mind went totally blank, radio silence, before the gears in his head shifted, spiraling full speed into the abyss.  
  
Jason would never want this. Wouldn’t want to be treated this way, seen like this, especially —especially— by Tim.  
  
*  
  
_He wasn’t officially apart of their pack, but he might as well have been. He worked cases in Gotham. The Red Hood still killed, just sparingly, a last resort for the worst of the worst. Jason had become more active in the day time, attacking the disease at its often overlooked center, and Crime Alley's citizens harvested the fruits of his labor._  
  
_He visited the manor, every now and again._  
  
_There seemed to be an unspoken truce between them, since bringing Bruce back. Aside from the occasional jab, Jason was mostly cordial towards him, at least._  
  
_But Tim knew that there was some small, fragile part of him still saw Tim as a threat. That he still had a faint whisper in the back of his mind that Tim was trying to rip the carpet out from under him, push him into obscurity and steal back the space he was trying to forge for himself.  
_  
_Tim was a strategist, which meant he needed to know the players in the board._  
  
_So he’d noticed, noticed the way Jason locked up (even though he hid it behind a easy smile) when Tim managed to figure out a solution a half second before he did, took out a few more criminals, got even a lick more attention from Bruce._  
  
_He noticed, but he tried not to let it get to him._  
  
_For starters, Tim was intimately familiar with feeling inadequate, so he tried to be sympathetic—it even made Jason more human, more approachable, in his eyes. For another, it wasn’t only him that Jason was wary of, so it wasn’t like he was being singled out—not anymore, at least. And finally, Jason was trying, had been since they’d decided that the only way they were going to get Bruce back, was as a team._  
  
_Nothing eased bad blood like a desperate, shared wish._  
  
_Despite his inclinations, despite the bone deep insecurity and resentment that had been festering in him for years, he had extended a cautious hand across the aisle in Tim’s direction. Kept it outstretched, even after their goal had been completed._  
  
_It began with small things, some not even seen until they were in the rear view._  
  
_The first time Tim actively noticed the change, was when Jason shared some intel on a case Tim had been struggling with, that Jason normally would’ve kept under lock and key, now free for Tim to do with as he pleased.  
_  
_No insults. No games. No hidden agendas.  
_  
_Jason was trying._  
  
_So it was only fair if Tim reached back, and tried too._  
  
_As best he could, Tim began to work around Jason’s edges._  
  
_Tactfulness was always where he had excelled, after all._  
  
*  
  
Tim pulled at the restraints so hard they chafed his wrist, noticeably making the bed creak, turned his head in all directions, looking for some kind of tool.  
  
There was nothing.  
  
Just pillows and blankets, thick canopy blocking off the view beyond the bed, a secluded nest constructed for a single purpose.  
  
The thought made Tim’s empty stomach turn.  
  
Ra’s gave a few more aggressive movements before he released his grip on Jason’s hair, not bothering to hold him up any longer, taking him by the hips instead.  
  
The omega simply went limp, bowing forward, the tips of his bangs tickling Tim's collarbone. Tim could feel excess slick dripping onto his lower half from their coupling. Jason’s entire body was trembling.  
  
“Don’t think.” Ra’s said in a low voice, steadily rutting against him. “Just lay there and take it, as you were meant to.”  
  
*  
  
_It was easier than he would’ve thought, investing himself in Jason. Tim always tried to air on the side of caution, and Jason could be…unpredictable. He’d worried, in the beginning, if he was even capable of working alongside a man who had vehemently hated him from the minute they met, without even knowing a thing about him._  
  
_Jason had a keen knack for getting under his skin._  
  
_Tim had wondered if he would ever be able to see Jason as a real ally._  
  
_But Tim had also experienced firsthand how it felt to be replaced. How painful it could be to watch someone take up the mantle you’d devoted everything to, lost so much for, before you were ready. And you were never ready._  
  
_He’d made his own mistakes due to jealousy and resentment, like the list with Damian’s name on it, damning a child with a self-fulfilling prophecy.  
_  
_And it wasn’t like he’d been fair to Jason either, when he’d returned, or before.  
_  
_When he was younger, it had always seemed so easy to consider what he would have done differently in Jason’s shoes, note all the strategic mistakes Jason had made, solidify that Tim would be different. He’d never thought Jason was unskilled. He’d known better than that, at least._  
  
_Just flawed.  
_  
_When he’d watched Jason through his camera, he hadn't been able to understand why where Dick Grayson flourished in Gotham’s streets, Jason Todd crumpled, collapsed in on himself.  
_  
_He hadn’t meant it viciously in the beginning. Jason was a hero. Tim had always believed that. He just hadn’t been able to consider the vantage point that led Jason to his decisions._  
  
_How could he? They’d been born into totally different worlds._  
  
_Then, when Jason returned, volatile and with a vendetta, with Tim as one of his targets, it made it seem as though Tim’s opinions (increasingly skewed with frustration at Jason’s actions) of a boy he’d never properly met, had always been facts._  
  
_Jason was too emotional, and reckless. That was why he died. And he didn’t have anyone to blame for his current situation but himself. If he were more logical, like Tim, he’d see that._

 _Later, it had been almost funny, how often he’d framed it that way, ignoring the numerous times his own life had been endangered by his failed plans of faulty decisions, no matter how safe he tried to be—and how often he’d been saved with just a moments notice._ _The only thing that separated his fate from Jason’s, really, was a few extra seconds on the clock._  
  
_Somewhere down the line, Tim had forgotten that Jason had simply been a boy, just like him, trying his best._  
  
_Then when Damian had been lost, and Jason clung on the outskirts of the family like a stray vying for scraps, barely pacified one minute, and feral the next, Tim had voiced his grievances, and Bruce had thrown it all back in his face._  
  
_“He didn’t die because he was hot headed,” Bruce said, cutting off whatever point Tim had made. “And if you think that’s the root of his downfall, you’ve already lost. Because you don’t see him at all.”_  
  
_Then he slouched._  
  
_“He wanted to save his birth mother. Sheila Haywood.” Bruce said, “She abandoned him, then sold him out to the Joker. He didn’t even know her, didn’t owe her a damn thing, but none of it stopped him from trying to save her, even though he had to know it was going to be the last thing he’d ever do. He had to know he was going to die, know that I wouldn’t make it, but he just didn’t stop trying...that’s the kind of person Jason was.”_  
  
_Bruce put his head in his hands._  
  
_And Tim had remembered, suddenly, every time he’d watched Jason take a hit for someone else’s sake, stay with victims for hours as they gave their statements, sit on a rooftop where he thought no one could see, and cried, angrily, when someone innocent had been failed to be saved._  
  
_How could he have forgotten?_  
  
_“Barbara was right. I was lonely and selfish and it got Jason killed. I knew he needed help but I put it off because I didn’t want to confront the problem. Look at how many others I’ve lost since. Can I really say it’s anyone’s fault but mine? I was the one who left him, even though I had to know that he would never just abandon her. How could I have left him? My pack. My son. Mine. I knew what kind of person he was, what he valued. I knew him. Of course he was going to try and save her. I would’ve done the same. Wouldn’t any of us? Wouldn’t you?”_  
  
_Tim didn’t have to consider his response. He still remembered looking at his distorted reflection in the pits waters, as he wrestled with whether or not to return his father to the land of the living._  
  
_“Then...why is he...why don’t you...”_  
  
_“I don’t know.” Bruce said, and suddenly, he seemed so lackluster compared to the man Tim had spent his early life building up. “I just...can’t bring myself to.”  
_  
_A long, empty silence._  
  
_“I took him to Ethiopia. Where he died…where he was **murdered.** That's why he's...upset with me. I thought it would...I wanted to see if there was a way for Damian to...” Bruce didn’t lift his head. “No. I was scared. I wanted to push him away. I wanted to hurt him. I could say it was his sake, to protect him…but really, it was for me. It’s always been for me.”_  
  
_And suddenly, Tim was reminded exactly why he was always so terrified of letting himself become like Batman._  
  
*  
  
“I’m sure you have questions, young detective, but let’s save them for later.” Ra’s let out a contented growl. “I’m almost finished.”  
  
Tim’s blood turned to ice at those words, and he struggled harder, as if he could somehow snap rope and metal with will alone, prevent what was already set in stone.  
  
No matter how many hours of training he put in, strength of body had never been his trump card. And he was panicking. Despite all he’d been taught, all he’d learned first hand, he couldn’t seem to quell his emotions, an open champagne bottle the cork no longer fit inside.  
  
His frantic movements only seemed to excite Ra’s further, who gave a few more forceful rolls of his hips before going still, pressed in as deeply as he could manage.  
  
He came with only a soft grunt, and Tim couldn’t do a thing but watch.  
  
*  
  
_It started with their first team mission, almost a year and a half after they'd first decided it was more beneficial to be allies than enemies. They’d worked together before, but this was different. More intentional. More solidified. More...personal._  
  
_Jason had officially been reintroduced to their pack 1 month._  
  
_The older man had pointed out a plan of action so devilish and concise Tim wasn’t sure he’d have been able to craft it himself. Jumped into a fray with an ease Tim just couldn’t copy. Cracked a joke as he’d taken down the leader in a way that seemed as natural as breathing.  
_  
_As it turned out, Jason was actually kinda fun to be with when Tim wasn’t the target of his bitterness. Who would’ve thought._  
  
_It didn’t take much to see why Bruce had loved having him around, wanted to keep him close. Had been so utterly devastated at his loss._  
  
_It was easy to love Jason, even if it could be difficult to understand him._  
_And it was difficult, when what Jason said and what he meant often failed to meet, contradicted each other._  
  
_Until one night, Tim had awoken in a dark, cold place. He’d been stiff, aching all over._  
  
_“Sleep good?” Jason’s voice had rasped at him. Tim could tell they were back to back, probably tied together._  
  
_“Yeah,” Tim said. “Like a corpse.”_  
  
_“Been there," Jason said. "Anyways, I have good news, and I have bad news.” A large chunk of being Robin, for the first two at least, had always been putting on a show. Playing the distraction, while the bat waited to strike from the shadows. After Jason had died, things had changed. But there was a showmanship in how Dick and Jason did things, that neither of them could seem to shake after so many years, and none of the others could replicate.  
_  
_“Bad news first,” Tim said, vision blurring._  
  
_“Pessimist,” Jason had snorted a weak laugh. The grunted, pained. “You’re on your own from here on out. I’m running a good liter low on blood.” He sighed. “And my legs beat to hell. It’s...graphic. Times a bit of a factor, too. I might’ve kicked one of our delightful hosts into sterility, and there was a lot of talk about personally emptying a full chamber into both of us the minute he could hold himself upright.”_  
  
_“So, the usual spiel,” Tim had cracked._  
  
_“Just another day at the office, right?”_  
  
_“Right,” Tim had taken a slow breath. Centered himself. “And the good news?”_  
_The ropes around him suddenly slackened. Jason let out a audible “whew”, and something hit the floor with a metal clang._  
  
_“That, is the good news.” Jason jerked his weight to the left, directing Tim’s attention. “I figure, you can jimmy your way up those containers, go for the skylight, and it should be a cakewalk from there. But worst case, I can make a distraction.”_  
  
_“You expect me to leave you.” It hadn’t been a question. More of a realization._  
  
_“I’m 200 pounds of dead weight right now,” Jason said, offhanded, like he wasn’t even talking about throwing his life away. “Relax. I’m not upset. I know it’s not personal. It just makes the most sense. You of all people know that,” His voice had gotten softer. “I’m on borrowed time anyways. This way, at least one of us gets to live.”_  
  
_Tim sat up, slow, hands in balled fists. He’d been trembling._  
  
_Jason had cleared his throat. “Just tell Bruce, that, you know...”_  
  
_Tim hadn’t let him finish, an unfamiliar fire roaring to life in his belly. “Tell him yourself," Tim said, started to work on Jason's ropes. "Because I'm not going anywhere without you,"_  
  
_When Bruce had come for them, he’d been straight to the point, accusing in a way that was actually supposed to be fussy. It was usually his way of saying he’d been scared, Tim had learned over the years._  
  
_“What, happened?” He’d asked._  
  
_They’d just looked at each other, Jason’s arm slung over Tim’s shoulder, his weight miraculously supported, and they’d traded knowing glances, tired smiles. “You know. Just the usual,”_  
  
_Things had been different between them after that. Not perfect, but. Better._  
  
_Every now and then, Jason would give him a smile, just so, and that’s when Tim began to wonder, then imagine, then hope._  
  
*  
  
After a moment, Ra’s pushed Jason down so he laid completely prone on top of Tim, his knot still tying them together, and Tim full body shuddered as Jason’s neck was placed within biting distance of his gagged mouth. He could feel Jason’s cunt rested near his thigh, and his own cock was painfully hard, traitorously aching to be held in that tight heat.  
  
He hated himself in that moment, hated his body for responding to such a disgusting molestation of someone he cared about.  
  
Ra’s seemed completely unaware (or apathetic) to his ongoing moral dilemma.  
  
“You know,” Ra’s started, petting Jason’s spine to keep him relaxed through their joining. “It’s considered taboo now, but historically it was not uncommon for high ranking betas to assist in mating...it made it easier to ensure omegas were satisfied through the entirety of their heat…and was an opportunity for a beta to pass on their genes. Did you know litters can contain babes with more than one sire?” Ra’s ran a finger up every knob of the omegas spine, to a scabbing bite mark on the back of Jason’s neck. “Though these attempts tend to be more successful if the omega is knotted first.”  
  
Tim just glared at him, so angry he felt a thin lining of tears prick his eyes.  
  
“Don’t look at me like that, young detective. I’ve done this all for you, to preserve your line, since you seem so reluctant to do it yourself. Even with the mate I knew we’d both agree on as acceptable. There are very few I would give that sort of consideration,” Ra’s said. “It wasn’t easy, you know. Capturing and keeping him here long enough to rid his system of those irksome suppressants. The second Robin is persistent, if nothing else.”  
  
_Do you expect me to be grateful,_ Tim thought, incredulous.  
  
But Ra’s just continued. “I look forward to seeing what the accumulation of your genes will create. I’ve been watching the both of you for some time now…and I am certain whatever you spawn will develop quite nicely,” Ra’s leaned down to nose at the mark, and Jason tipped his head forward in submission. “Especially under the guidance of a proper pack head.”  
  
Tim jerked forcefully without meaning to. He was pretty sure he’d torn the skin of his wrists in their holders, chafed them raw.  
  
He wasn’t an alpha or an omega, wasn’t really dictated by millions of years of hardwired instinct in his day to day, but right now, he wanted nothing more than to go for Ra’s throat.  
  
“There’s no need to worry. I don’t intend to separate them from their mother. I’ve grown rather fond of this one, in our time together,” Ra’s wet his lips. “Perhaps it doesn't seem like it, but this is an honor. I am quite particular about who I allow to carry to term. Overpopulation is a problem, and it’s rare to find omegas of real substance. Though, if I were the type to be ruled by my designation, his cunt alone could have solidified his value.”  
  
The alpha grinned, wickedly triumphant. Then he took Jason’s neck in his jaws, reopening the bite he’d been tracing, and a single drop of blood slid onto Tim’s cheek.  
  
*  
  
_He kissed Jason first._

 _And he was...  
_  
_He was pretty sure he still made the first move, technically. Even if it **was** Jason who goaded him into it.  
_  
_Jason had something like, “what, you wanna lay one on me, or something?” And Tim **had** wanted to. So he did.  
_  
_It was unusual for him, being the lead. Every other time, romantic ally or seductive foe, they’d reached for him first and he’d trailed behind, but always pulled back before he got too lost.  
_  
_But he didn't mind getting tangled up in Jason. Thinking about how soft his lips were, how good he smelled, how sweet he tasted, even with the hint of smoke. Wondered what he should do with his hands, if it was too soon—too forward—to rest a palm on Jason’s hip, or run fingers through his hair.  
_  
_If he was...completely honest, it was really just a soft little peck— and the last domineering thing he’d done that night._  
_Because the next thing he knew, he was slammed into brick, held there easily while Jason kissed him like he planned to devour Tim whole.  
_  
_When Tim was sure he couldn’t take much more without his legs failing, Jason had dropped to his knees. “This ok?” He said, hands on Tim’s thighs, probably holding him upright, and when the younger man had nodded, more than once, unable to find his voice, Jason had smirked and worked open the lower half of his stealth suit.  
_  
_He guessed what made the encounter distinct, was that for once, Tim hadn't thought about stopping, not in a way that would've manifested into action. He wanted, needed it. It cleansed and replenished him at the same time.  
_  
_Jason had sucked his dick like it was the only thing that mattered, like it was his reason for living, like there weren’t 20 armed drug dealers only a few staircases below them._  
  
_Tim remembered the soft feeling of Jason’s hair under his fingers, how he glanced up at Tim when his bangs were brushed from his forehead, his widening smirk whenever Tim moaned, and...and the color to his cheeks that told Tim Jason might be more effected by this sort of thing than he let on._  
  
_His mouth had been incredible. Too good._  
  
_Tim had told him that, blurted it out without meaning to, and Jason had just laughed. “Well, I didn’t pay my way through crime alley just jacking tires. Had my own local business for dick sucking. It could go on my resume and everything,” he’d said, and before Tim could follow that unsettling train of thought (to Jason, tragedy and comedy seemed to go hand in hand), Jason was deep-throating him again.  
_  
_Even when Tim had warned him, with increasing urgency, that he was gonna cum, Jason had just pressed closer, nose brushing against the light line of his pubic hair, and when Tim did finally burst, he’d dutifully collected every last drop on his tongue, licking his lips as he pulled away.  
_  
_He had gotten up, looked Tim right in the eye, and swallowed. Then smiled, leaving Tim with his pants around his knees, a casual "gotta run," thrown over his shoulder, like he hadn't just sucked Tim's soul clean through his dick.  
_  
_Even if Tim was the one grabbing onto him first, even if Jason ended up on his knees, Jason had made it clear from the start, that he was the one in control, of the situation, of himself.  
_  
*  
  
Jason barely stirred as Ra’s released his teeth and lapped the wound gently while his knot flagged.  
  
When Ra’s pulled himself from the omega with a wet pop, he received only a pitiful whimper, though the alphas attentions were elsewhere, looking at the place he and Jason had been tied. Tim felt wetness leaking onto him again, and as his brain intrusively conjured a crude image of its source, his cheeks flushed angrily on the older omegas behalf.  
  
Then Ra’s freed Jason’s restrained arms from behind his back, stroked his hair. It took only a moment before Jason was relaxing into the touch, seeking it out. He turned his head to the side, sighing against Tim’s collar bone. His hips rolled lazily against Tim, and the younger man arched, clenching his teeth.  
  
He needed to find a way out. Needed to figure out the solution, the way Bruce had taught him. Needed to save Jason, needed to protect him, even from himself, especially, especially while he still had control of his facilities, before he—  
  
Suddenly Jason was being pulled off of him, rearranged as easily as a rag doll, until his hips were positioned above Tim’s head while his own mouth was dangerously close to Tim’s erection.  
  
“I can see the gears in your head turning, young detective.” Ra’s said, somewhere out of sight. “And while I usually admire your calculative mind, this isn’t why I brought you together.”  
  
The gag was pulled free, but before Tim had a chance to say anything, Jason’s hips were shoved down, hot cunt pressed against his lips, leaking with slick and cum. Instantly, Tim was breathing heavily, panicking, hyperventilating. He clamped his mouth shut, but Ra’s simply pinched his nostrils closed in response.  
  
It was a short lived comparison of wills.  
  
As Tim opened his mouth to breathe, vision fuzzy from lack of air, the liquid dripped past his lips, tasting like a oasis spring after a lifetime of wandering the desert.  
  
Jason rolled his hips, leaving a slick trail along Tim’s chin, his gruff whine saying exactly what he needed without the omega ever having to utter a word. Or rather, demanding what he needed, his cries working as a siren song, threatening to drown anyone who heard it.  
  
Two more rolls of Jason’s hips, and Tim had lost. Ra’s released his nose, no longer finding it necessary.  
  
Tim swallowed, parted his lips, tilted his chin, and gave one, weak swipe of his tongue against Jason’s folds. He was instantly rewarded with another gush of liquid, which he lapped at with growing fervor. Jason continued to encourage him with little movements and soft moans, arching sharply when Tim finally pressed his tongue inside.  
  
His slick worked as a powerful aphrodisiac, and suddenly Tim couldn’t remember why he had fought so rigorously against this in the first place.  
  
Somewhere by his lower body, he heard Ra’s say something, felt Jason’s weight shift, and suddenly his cock was being enveloped in the tight, familiar heat of the omegas mouth.  
  
Tim wrenched against the restraints, wanting to grip Jason by the hips to hold him, or spear him with his fingers and tongue at the same time. Instead, he pressed deeper, eating Jason’s cunt like it was his last meal on earth, and Jason mirrored his enthusiasm, sucking his cock diligently, though any time it seemed like Tim got even a bit close to cumming, Jason pulled away.  
  
It was right out of his wet dreams. Except this, this was a nightmare.  
  
*  
  
_He’d never seen Jason naked outside of the cave showers, only ever accidental viewings, never gotten to share intimacies anywhere conventional, only ever in broom closets, back alleys or roof tops, never been able to give back any of the pleasure Jason gifted him.  
_  
_He’d offered, any time their work had unraveled into...diversions...but each time, Jason had easily evaded him. Only once, Jason had let him rub the outline of his fully-clothed cock in some seedy bar bathroom, panting into his hair._  
  
_Jason had worn a v-neck that night, part of some undercover frat boy tourist persona he was trying to workshop, and standing with his face rested against Jason’s pectoral, listening to his heart, Tim had been struck with a stroke of inspiration, not expecting much. But then Jason let out a deliciously robust cry as his nipple was tweaked, face red and soft, and Tim. Tim was instantly hard again._  
  
_His head had fogged up dangerously fast, imagining what it’d be like to strip Jason naked and wring pleasure from him until there wasn’t a thing left._  
  
_“Tim,” the older man gripped him tighter, like Tim was the railing overlooking a vast horizon, and Jason was afraid of losing his balance. His legs were trembling._  
  
_Jason could throw himself off buildings without batting an eye, but, this kind of fall scared him, Tim realized._  
  
_“It’s alright,” Tim had said, “I’ve got you,”_  
  
_He’d kissed him then, slipping his tongue into Jason’s mouth, grinding into his hip, and Jason had melted under his touch.  
_  
_But they hadn’t gone much farther._  
  
_They’d gotten a call about a nearby robbery, and Jason had avoided him after that, the case he was working used as an excuse. They’d run into each other nearly a month later, accidentally, and their reunion had ended more in pain than pleasure._  
  
_Jason had gone missing shortly after.  
_  
*  
  
He lost himself in Jason’s taste for a time, perilous situation forgotten, until Ra’s moved up by Tim’s head, a reminder, smirking down at his undoubtedly debauched form before doing what Tim wanted to himself and pressing his long fingers into Jason’s cunt, curving them with purpose, slamming into a spot that had Jason arched out of Tim's reach with a high pitched yelp.

"He's quite sensitive, even for an omega, when touched here," Ra's told him, conversationally. "When we began, he became so overtaken with pleasure he didn't even know what to do. He wouldn't admit it, but I think it was the first time he'd experienced the feeling,"  
  
It only took a few of these movements before Jason was cumming with a drawn out whine, his thick, unerect cocklet twitching but producing no more than a thin dribble, his pussy red and sopping wet with arousal. Ra’s fingers were equally drenched when he pulled them away.  
  
Jason’s head bowed as he came down from his high, but after a few minutes he moved a bit to the side, off Tim, to a more comfortable position, and went back to gently lapping at the beta’s cock.  
  
“Remember not to let him cum, Jason,” Ra’s said, licking the tip of his slick covered finger, tasting it absently. “He needs to cum inside you. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”  
  
“Yes,” Jason echoed, and like this, even his voice was different, a strange pitch that made the idea of denying him even a single request seem impossible.  
  
It was the first time he’d heard Jason speak in this place, but it wasn’t his voice. Still, Tim called for him.  
  
“Jay,” He slurred, “Jay, it’s me.”  
  
The omega just swallowed him down eagerly, hips already moving against the blankets, unshakable in his quest for pleasure by anyone but the alpha in the room.  
  
The air was heavy with Jason and Ra’s scent, mingling together. Tim didn’t exist in this place. Not really.  
  
Ra’s smiled down at Tim, as if he’d proved some great point. “He wants this, young detective. It would be more enjoyable if you admitted you did too.”  
  
“It’s not...he can’t...make that decision, like this.” Tim panted, still hazy from the amount of slick he’d ingested.  
  
“You think so? I’ve found omegas in heat are the most honest of us all,” Ra’s wiped the rest of the liquid on his fingers down Tim’s cheek. “Allowing yourself to openly and enthusiastically chase your pleasure requires vulnerability and a relinquishing of power most are unable to give in their lifetimes.”  
  
“You’re...insane,” Tim spat, but the older man seemed immune to the insult. Probably had heard it so many times it no longer registered.  
  
“That should be enough,” Ra’s said after sniffing at the air, one hand grasping Jason firmly by the neck and directing him along the pillow adorned bed. Then he’d given him an oddly gentle squeeze, waiting.  
  
Jason shivered, then, slowly, just a bit awkwardly, lowered his upper body completely to the mattress, elevated his hips, ass out, so that his spine was in a rising slope, a perfect presentation. Tim’s throat went dry, breathing hard again. Something ugly and instinctual clawed at the cage of his ribs, threatening to break free.  
  
“I’m also fairly certain he’s never experienced a genuine heat before.” Ra’s patted Jason’s ass the way one would when showing off a prized bitch. “From what I can gather, only the pit was able to kick-start his cycle, and my daughter had him on suppressants immediately afterwards. He didn’t even know how to take a proper mounting position. Probably had never been shown in his whole life, poor thing.” Ra’s nudged the omegas legs apart, making a lewd display of his abused sex. “He tried to act brave, but I could tell how uncertain he was. So I acquainted him with the matter.”  
  
Tim wondered, sickeningly, how many times he’d been held down and fucked raw. “Don’t move,” Ra’s commanded, and, so unlike his usual self, Jason obeyed.  
  
“Why are you doing this,” Tim asked. “It can’t just be…”  
  
“I told you the last time we met, young detective. I intend to take everything from him. And from you.” Then Ra’s moved back to Tim, looking down at him with bright green eyes, spoke with an alphas tone. “I am going to release you, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t do anything unnecessary. Neither of you are in a position to fight, and I _promise_ you will not be the one I punish if my patience is tested.”  
  
Tim ran through the odds in his head.  
  
He didn’t answer, just clenched his jaw so tight his teeth hurt. Ra’s, taking that as a sign the beta understood, began to free him from the mitt restraints, casting his robe aside, then dragging him over to where Jason lay. His wrists were then locked in handcuffs, though this time with enough give he had at least some range of motion on his limbs.  
  
Ra’s clipped the front of Tim’s collar to the back of Jason’s, the cords length only giving them a short distance Tim was able to pull away before he would choke Jason, making it impossible for him to get a safe distance between them. In this position and proximity, instinct threatened to overtake logic again.  
  
The older man was trembling still, but his hips wiggled invitingly now that he felt Tim behind him. After a moment of nothing happening, the omega whined, producing more slick in an attempt to ensnare a suitor.  
  
“Yes, that’s right,” Ra’s said. “It’s time,”  
  
All it took was one firm shove on the lower back from Ra’s to close the distance between them, molding Tim against Jason, pressing their skin together, and unable to stop himself, the younger man was shakily mounting him, poking at the cleft of his ass, then down towards his waiting cunt, rubbing against the soft folds. He was sweating, dizzy. With the last of his strength, Tim bit his lip so hard it bled, trying to regain himself, keep from entering. But it was too late. With a deft hand, Ra’s had taken his aching cock, leading it to Jason’s opening.  
  
“Don’t,” Tim choked out, barely there. “Ra’s—“ but the alpha didn’t seem to even hear him.  
  
“Perfect,” Ra’s whispered, guiding it inside.  
  
Both men cried out at the feeling, Jason going totally limp under him. His cunt squeezed Tim in a vice grip as Tim was forced in to the hilt, causing his breath to catch from the pressure alone.  
It was unlike anything he’d ever experienced, so intensely good it was overwhelming.  
  
Like that, it was easy to let his mind wander, forget the reality of his situation, and instead fantasize about fucking Jason full, making the omega round with his pups, to imagine the older man wanted him, needed him. The image of Jason, chest softened with milk for their children, waiting safely for him to return in their shared nest, made rolling his hips into the man seem intuitive. Of course he was going to give Jason what he wanted, fuck him as much as he needed.  
  
How could he say no, with the omega begging so sweetly beneath him? He gave a few shallow thrusts, and was rewarded with Jason’s relieved moans.  
  
“Good,” Tim slurred, tipping his head to press a kiss into his sensitive neck, and Jason gasped, confirming a suspicion Tim had always been too worried about disrupting their fragile peace to investigate. “Perfect,”  
  
Tim had asked himself a few times, what they were to each other. He'd never been totally comfortable with ambiguity.  
Jason wasn’t really his boyfriend or his lover, wasn't his mate. So, what was he, to Tim? What was Tim, in Jason's eyes?  
  
What were they, exactly?  
  
He’d never really been able to figure out the answer.  
  
*  
  
_They’d fought, the last time they’d seen each other. Tim couldn’t quite remember how their conversation had started. He’d known Jason was avoiding him, after what happened in the bar. He just didn’t understand why._  
  
_Some small part of him, dared to hope._  
  
_He remembered asking Jason, the question that had been on his mind for so long._  
  
_What are we, exactly?_  
  
_And Jason...Jason had laughed at him._  
  
_Said something so pointed it gouged directly into Tim’s chest like his signature knife._  
  
_“Yeesh, you think we’d live in a world where you could suck someone’s dick without it becoming a whole thing,” Jason’s eyes were guarded, despite his casual words. “It was sex, Tim. I was bored and horny and I wanted to see if I could get you to unclench enough for that stick you’ve always got up your ass to come loose. That’s all,”_  
  
_“You don’t really mean that,” Tim had said, finally. “I don’t know why you’re upset, but I’m sure we can—“_  
  
_“Wanna bet?”_  
  
_“What?”_  
  
_“You wanna bet, on whether or not I mean it. What do you think your odds are, **Replacement?** ”_  
  
_It’d been a long time, since Jason had called him that._  
  
_Tim didn’t have Dick’s natural talent. Jason’s real world experience._  
  
_So he relied on his mind._  
  
_Tim...was a strategist. Reading situations, reading people, was supposed to come easy to him._  
_Jason was a book in a language he’d never seen before. But he tried his best, chipping away at words he thought looked familiar.  
_  
_“Yeah. Here’s my wager. You want to be loved so bad it eats you up at night, but the minute anyone actually tries to meet you half way and get to know you in a way that counts, you turn tail and run. You get off on people being withholding, or pushing people away yourself,” Tim had spat. “And then you wonder, why you’re so miserable. The truth is, you’re the reason why. Because you’re scared of getting hurt. Scared that if anyone saw the real you, they wouldn’t like what they—”  
_  
_“I’ll never love you.” Jason had said, simply, like he was bored, like the entire conversation was tedious. He knew every artery, tendon, nerve. Knew exactly where to strike. What kind of blow would be the most painful. “I don’t even like you. I tried, but you’re always just gonna be the guy who replaced me. And I hate you for it.” He said the words like he was stating basic facts.  
_  
_When Jason cared about the subject of an argument, really, truly cared about it, he got angry, passionate, even if the point he was arguing for often wasn't the one he really meant. If Jason was upset, that was a sign that what they were talking about mattered.  
_  
_Tim suddenly felt small.  
_  
_He remembered tracing the lines of the floor with his eyes. “You really are as stupid as everyone says, if you think I could ever replace you.” Tim straightened his posture. “You know what, Jason? You wanna run away? **Fine.** But I won’t come looking for you,”_  
  
_Jason had shrugged, like it was no big deal._ _“I didn’t want, or expect you to,”_  
  
_Bruce had walked in on them then, and, picking up the tension in the room, asked what had happened, Tim had turned away._  
  
_“Nothing.” He’d said, willing himself not to let his face reflect the losing hand he was holding. “Nothing that matters, anyways.”  
_  
_If you wanted to be a good strategist, you needed to be able to take an opponents techniques, and reflect them.  
_  
*  
  
He hadn’t cum once tonight, hadn’t in awhile. Until Jason, he’d always cut off such pursuits before it got that far.  
  
After leaving Lynx high and dry for the third time, he’d come to the conclusion that maybe it was about more than just testing his self control, keeping himself free of distractions.  
  
When he’d started seeing Jason, he’d confirmed he always came the hardest when he was edged first.  
  
Ra’s probably didn’t know that. Probably was just working him up with scents and teasing pleasure to ensure he came quickly, the thickest of his seed being the first inside Jason.  
  
But it certainly wasn’t making things any easier for Tim, in his current situation.  
  
He struggled in vain against the inevitable end, fighting against himself and his instincts, against his fate, the rhythm of his thrusts becoming off beat. His hands were holding Jason so tightly, he was sure there were bruises, but if Jason minded, he didn’t show it.  
  
Maybe, maybe if he just...if he...he could...figure out a way...there was always some kind of...  
  
There had to be some kind of way.  
  
Ra’s sighed behind him, and suddenly there was a heavy weight on his back, Ra’s starting to press against him harshly, in turn forcing him into Jason at the same pace. "Your pack certainly has a habit of making simple things unnecessarily difficult, Timothy. I wonder if that trait is what holds you together, instead of blood,"  
  
Tim’s vision spotted, mouth falling open, and it didn’t take long after that.  
  
Jason’s cries reached a crescendo, wordlessly begging Tim to keep the brutal pace, his pussy squeezing Tim like he was trying to milk him for everything he had. Eventually, Tim started moving on his own again, Ra’s no longer forcing his thrusts. His hips began to stutter, a tell that any minute he would be free-falling over the precipice.  
  
His head was full of static.  
  
He faintly heard someone apologizing, over and over, before realizing the voice was his own. Jason didn’t even seem to hear him though, too far gone, tangled too deeply in the twisted web of pleasure Ra’s had laid for them.  
  
In a last ditch effort, the younger man tried to pull out just before he came, but Ra’s, never having strayed far, cut him off instantly, forcing him back in as far as he would go and holding him there. Tim ground into Jason with short, jerky thrusts, unable to pull away any further.  
  
His vision blurred, and he realized he was crying.  
  
“You don’t have to fight it, young detective. You don’t even need to feel guilty. Can’t you tell?” The older man said, against the shell of the betas ear, and Tim could feel his hard cock poking Tim’s back. “He needs you.”  
  
As if in agreement, Jason clamped down around him.  
  
Tim choked out a gasp, the pressure now unbearable, and his vision went white as he came. He felt a hand roughly push his head down to Jason’s neck, and before even realizing what he’d done, Tim had sunk his teeth in, tasting blood. Jason went painfully rigid beneath him, cunt convulsing, limbs locked, as he came with a silent scream.  
  
Tim wasn’t able to form a knot, but Ra’s didn’t move from where he had them forced together, and Tim didn’t have the strength to try and get away. Jason was simply shuddering weakly below him, boneless. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ra’s pulled away, unclipped the collar the held the two men together, undid the handcuffs and dragged Tim off the omega, locking him back into the mitt restraints while he was still shell shocked by the force of his orgasm.  
  
As soon as he had Tim secured, Ra’s called someone, and two omegas entered the canopy, never opening the thick canvas enough for their surroundings to be revealed. With damp towels and small vials, they gently cleaned, sanitized, and oiled Tim, who never took his eyes off the omega across the room.  
  
Ra’s had turned his attentions to Jason as well, laying him out supine, with a gentleness that made all his previous actions look like they’d come from someone else entirely. The omega barely stirred, all strength fucked out of him, only making soft, satisfied noises whenever he was touched. As Ra’s leaned to nose at the fresh bite mark at his neck, the omega instinctively half-rolled his body to show him, sighing contentedly as Ra’s laved the wound with his tongue.  
  
After a bit, Ra’s coaxed him on his back again, before patting at Jason’s thigh. The omega, eyes drooping a bit in exhaustion, made a uncertain noise, but he spread his legs without a fight, creating a perfect slot for Ra’s to fit between.  
  
“No,” Tim said, pitifully. “Stop it, Ra’s. He’s had enough.”  
  
“Enough? We have just begun. I near my rut,” Ra’s said, “Though I don’t expect you to understand this sort of thing. Rest now, young detective. You’ve met your purpose, for the time being,”  
  
Ra’s gave a simple snap of the fingers, and one of the servants put the gag back in place. Something poked at his arm, and he lost function of his muscles like the cutting of a puppets strings. Not putting him under, though. Ra’s wasn’t kind enough for that.  
  
Just before the belt was completely fastened, Tim called out, shocking himself, and his captor. “Please. _Please._ ”  
  
“I admit, I am a bit disappointed, Timothy.” Ra’s looked at him. “One of your standing should know better than to beg. It’s unbecoming.”  
  
And that was the last time Ra’s regarded him, not looking his way once as he lowered himself onto Jason, taking him in a deep kiss.  
  
Tim could see where Ra’s was rutting against the omega, could tell the exact moment he was entered. Jason arched with a ragged cry, but when Ra’s bent closer to him, taking the omegas wrists and pulling it to his own shoulder, then patting the omegas thigh, Jason wrapped around him dutifully, arms going around neck, legs crossing at the small of his back. As Ra’s thrusts picked up speed, Jason pressed closer, clinging to him like a life-line.  
  
*  
  
_He still remembered the full body nausea when Bruce, after being needled by multiple members of the pack, himself included, about his recent behavior (angry, secretive, reckless), had finally revealed that Jason was nowhere to be found, that he'd failed to arrive for designated briefing of an undercover mission he'd been working, and Bruce suspected foul play. Jason's living quarters had not been used in two, maybe three weeks, meaning that if he had been taken, it had been awhile ago. There were signs of struggle, a few stray flecks of blood, and very little else._  
  
_The scene had been forged, any evidence probably left purposefully. In truth, they had no solid leads._  
  
_He’d told them to be careful, that it was very likely someone was observing them from the shadows. They were being taunted, the fate of their pack mate dangled just out of reach, left up to their imagination. Whoever had done this, Bruce said, would likely take advantage of anxiety, turn it to full blown vulnerability._  
  
_Tim had noticed how Bruce had turned to look, right at him, when he’d made that point._  
  
_What he hadn’t said, but also hadn’t hidden in the file, was that, coupled with the blood, there were traces of fluid, sexual in nature. Whether to protect them from the horror and following panic such a realization would bring, or to save himself, and Jason, the discomfort, Tim wasn’t sure.  
_  
_All he’d known was that he needed to find Jason, as quickly as he could.  
_  
_“I let him down,” Bruce had said, broad shoulders curving in, showing how worn he was, how close to collapse. “I failed him, again. I wanted...I was supposed to protect him, this time.”  
_  
_No, Tim had wanted to say. No, it wasn’t Bruce’s fault. It was—  
_  
_If he’d hadn’t pressed the matter, never said what he did, Jason wouldn’t have—  
_  
_If he’d just been smarter, been faster, been stronger, been **better** , this never—_  
  
_An animal separated from its pack, was the easiest to hunt. In the wild, isolation, above anything else, was the leading cause of death._  
  
_It was his own fault._  
  
*  
  
At some point, the blindfold came loose, and when Jason tilted his head, their eyes met.  
  
But there wasn’t even an inkling of recognition. He observed Tim like he would a stranger. His cheeks were flushed, eyes hazy. He was panting softly.  
  
Jason was finally looking at him, but couldn’t see a thing.  
  
He turned back to Ra’s, who was still inside him. Slowly, carefully, Jason leaned forward, gently nosing at the older mans neck, before sniffing him. Ra’s froze, but didn’t dissuade him.Tim fantasized that Jason was going to take the demon head’s neck in his jaws and bite down in triumph, having played along for just the right moment to strike.  
  
Instead, Jason simply pulled away after a moment or two. His lips parted, gazing into Ra’s eyes. It looked so intimate, Tim felt like the twisted one for watching.  
  
His voice was so soft, Tim almost missed it.  
  
“Alpha,” Jason said the title like he was testing the waters.  
  
It was amazing how a single word, could make Tim feel as though he'd experienced his heart being ripped from his body.  
  
Jason didn’t call Bruce that, probably never had, never would. And Tim knew, deep down, he probably hadn’t used it for anyone, not once in his whole life.  
  
The air thickened with a plume of pheromones, like a bomb had gone off. “That’s right,” Ra’s growled, pulling him sharply by the hips with a renewed vigor, earning a gasp. “My _qamar,_ ”  
  
Tim just felt drained, like there wasn’t anything left in him. No more to take.  
  
He closed his eyes, unable to bare witness for even a second longer. But it only seemed to make everything louder in his ears.  
  
*  
  
_“I’ll look for him. I’ll find him,” Tim had vowed. He wasn’t sure if he was telling Bruce, or himself. “I’ll bring him home.”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty violent.  
> Not beta'd unless you count poor Tim. Since this is becoming a series instead of a one shot, I performed some edits on the first chapter to keep things consistent. And some of the writing just needed to be pampered.

Bruce found him within an hour of the distress beacons activation. He would have called for Kon, but knew, busy with his own mission, other worldly in nature, the meta was too far away to hear him. And wherever Ra’s had him holed up, it was obvious it’d been created very deliberately, to remain undiscovered until he wanted it to be. So Tim laid there, and waited.  
  
Every part of him ached, from being beaten and constrained. He had little to no range of motion in his broken thumb. He wondered, drifting in an out of consciousness, if it would ever heal properly again.  
  
The only warning he’d gotten of the Bats arrival was the sound of a door being kicked clear off its hinges. Then the canopies were ripped away, and Jason’s, then his, names were called.  
  
Tim caught the flicker of despair on Bruce’s face, a micro-expression, when he realized it was only him on the bed. Got the full intake of faded scents there, saw the Pollock drip-patterns of blood and cum. Realized that again, he’d been too late.  
  
He stood there for a moment, frozen. Spiraling.  
  
But Bruce hid it quickly. Forced himself to, in Tim’s presence.  
  
“Tim—“ He’d dropped to the betas side, so gentle as he freed his swollen hands and torn wrists. “Is anything broken? Critical? Are you—“  
  
“I’m fine.”  
  
Bruces mouth pinched, probably cutting off the argument that no, he was decisively not “fine”. Instead though, still in cowl, he nosed at Tim. Bruce never lingered when he scented someone. Batman hardly ever scented at all.  
  
Not unless it was bad.  
  
“Don’t.” Tim shuddered. “You have to follow them, before the trail goes cold. Ra’s is the one who sent the distress call. He wanted you to find me.“  
  
Tim was his mocking goodbye note.  
  
Bruce paused at the bite mark at Tim’s neck, still flaky with dried blood, and let out of a growl. Then took a deep breath.  
  
“Robin and Nightwing are checking the perimeter. If there’s a trail, they’ll find it.”  
  
“It’s ok, Bruce. I’ll be fine. You need to go.” Tim said, shakily. “He needs to know you’re looking for him.“  
  
“I am,” Bruce said. “Looking for him.”  
  
Tim shook his head. “He needs to _see_ it. You’re the pack head, Bruce. And I’m just a beta.”  
  
It seemed to click, and the alpha nodded, slowly, considering. “But not before I have you secured. You’re pack, too.”  
   
“Robin…can stay with me.” Tim grunted as he was helped upright. Bruce covered his shoulders with a nearby blanket. “We’ll manage, together.”  
  
“Tim—“  
  
“Bruce. Just go. Please. I want you to,” Tim said, as small as he felt. He bowed his head, looking at his naked lap as Bruce stood, calling Robin on his comms, then prepared to disembark. “I’m sorry.”  
  
Bruce froze at the door, turned back to him. “You have nothing...nothing to apologize for-“ but he stopped, looking at Tim’s face.  
  
“I tried,” Tims vision was glassy with tears. It made his beaten-shut eye sting. “But I just couldn’t save him. I wasn’t good en—“  
  
And then he was in Bruce’s arms, just like when they’d found his fathers corpse, the bat holding him steady as he wept.  
  
*  
  
_Resting had been good. It’d given Tim time to collect himself. Time to think._  
  
_Panicking, feeling sorry for himself, wouldn’t help._  
  
_He’d tested the tilt of his wrist in cuff. They’d been specialized, probably just for him._  
  
_But, still. He had thin hands. Normally he wouldn’t have had access to his thumb in the cuffs design, but the last time the servants had cleaned his chafing wounds, they’d put it on wrong. If he broke the finger, maybe, just maybe, there was a chance he could slide his wrist through._  
  
_He had to try, at least._  
  
_He’d turned his head, to where Jason and Ra’s slept, post-coital. Towards the end, Jason had barely been responsive as Ra’s plowed him, like the only reason he existed was to be seeded._  
  
_Tim had to work fast, before they woke up, fogged the air, his mind, with fresh pheromones. Before it started all over. Before Jason was hurt again._  
  
_He’d taken a deep breath, gotten the position right, and, with all his strength, snapped the bone of his finger._  
  
_Right then, Jason had stirred.  
_  
*  
  
He woke up to Dick holding his thickly bandaged hand. “Hey, Timmy,” He said, with a shaky smile. It didn’t reach his eyes. “Hope you don’t mind the switch, but Robin has insight on the League’s tactics, so we figured he’d be better off scouting with Bruce.”  
  
When Tim tried to get up, he was easily pushed back. “I need to—“  
  
“You need to rest.” Dick finished the argument with a single blow. He’d said it kindly, but firmly. “Tim, I know you want to help, but you’d just slow things down. They’ve got it covered.”  
  
“You should…be with them,” Tim said, finally, voice sluggish. “Backup,”  
  
“We have full hands on deck right now, bud,” Dick told him. “And someone’s gotta watch your blindspot, too.”  
  
Tim just shook his head. “He won’t try to take me again. He got what he wanted.” And then some.  
  
Dick didn’t say anything, just waited, patiently, for him to continue. Stroked his hand.  
  
“He said he wanted a heir,” Dick went still, though, from the look on his face, Tim gathered this was not the first time he’d been informed of Ra’s intentions. What Tim told him was only confirmation of what they’d already feared. “No. I insulted him. He wanted to punish me. Punish both of us. If he couldn’t have the company, if we were never going to join him…he made me…Dick, I…I didn’t want to, but I…”  
  
“Hey. It’s not your fault. Trust me.” Dick sat on the edge of the bed, got as close as he could without compromising Tim’s comfort. “Jason would tell you that too, and you know it. It’s no one’s fault but Ra’s.” He gave Tim’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “We’re gonna get him back. We are. We need to be believe that, right now.”  
  
Then Dick made space between his arms, for Tim to fall into, catching him like a safety net. He stroked the betas hair, filled his ears with comforting words, empty promises, sweet nothings.  
  
And Tim almost believed them.  
  
*  
  
_He had been able to tell when Jason was awake. His breath changed, and the air slowly saturated with sweetness again. As Jason squirmed against the bed, he’d made low, needy noises, which eventually enticed Ra’s into waking._  
  
_He’d finally managed to get one hand free, lubed the metal with his blood, when Jason had lowered himself onto the alphas cock. Sleep had replenished his energy, renewed his lust. He’d bounced in Ra’s lap fast and hard, singing a chorus of moans._  
  
_Tim had to work fast. Carefully, he started on the the other mitt with his newly free hand._  
  
_Ra’s seemed less observant of Tim now that he had entered a rut, his body working overtime to be able to satisfy the omega he’d ensnared throughout the remainder of their cycle, plant enough for a bountiful harvest._  
  
_But that didn’t stop Tim from being cautious, as he worked on freeing his legs. At some point, Ra’s had knocked Jason onto his back, was pounding into him. Thankfully, where they’d landed, the alpha could not see him._  
  
_Jason came hard, wailing, and as Ra’s neared his own climax, Tim had severed the last of his restraints. He slowly sat up, got into position, waited as Ra’s pulled back for what was probably one of his last thrusts before his knot stuck, and lunged, knocking them both clear from the bed.  
_  
*  
  
They did not, despite everyone's assuring words, find Jason that night, or the ones following.  
  
In the end, only Damian was upfront with him. “Father will find him. But it won’t be easy.” he said, not looking away from the book he read. He’d been left as bodyguard, and as babysitter, while Bruce and Dick set the plan of action for storming the Leagues quarters. Ra had no intention of hiding, it seemed. “Getting close will be difficult. There are too many variables. He may prefer to kill Todd instead of letting us have what he carries. Or he may return him only to snatch them all up later, after an attachment is formed.”  
  
“You weren’t born from your mother,” Tim said. “Would he…”  
  
“Unlikely. I am a special case.” Damian turned the page. “Grandfather prefers natural births. And if part of his reasoning is to hurt you and father…”   
  
He didn’t finish the thought. Didn’t need to.  
  
“I have been trying to overcome my predisposition to biased generalizes, but Todd is an omega who’s been claimed now, especially by an alpha as ruthless as grandfather. It will be difficult for him, in more ways than one.” Damian peeked over at him. “And you should also be aware, that there is also a possibility he’s gathered samples as a contingency plan. Even if we recover Todd in tact, even if we manage to protect him, and the children if that’s what Todd chooses, Grandfather might still end up with what he wants in the end.”   
  
Ra’s was nothing if not cunning.  
  
*  
  
_You didn’t need to be an omega, to feel the power behind an alphas fangs._  
  
_When Tim’s vision had cleared, Ra’s had been looking down at him where he lay, his mouth wet with Tim’s blood._  
  
_The fight had started off promising, Tim landing in a few solid blows while he had Ra’s taken by surprise, but then, things had taken a turn for the worse. Ra’s inner alpha snapped, furious at being interrupted right before he and Jason had joined._  
  
_Tim’s lower back was dripping with copious amounts of cum, where Ra’s had rutted against his skin until his knot popped, holding Tim by the neck where the collar had been ripped away in their struggle. Instinctively, he’d released a shuddering, defeated cry._  
  
_“While I admire your tenacity and quick thinking, that was unwise, young detective. Getting between an alpha and their prize, when you are in no condition to make a proper claim,” Ra’s wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, leaving a red mark. “You should avoid such endeavors in the future, if you wish to keep your throat.”_  
  
_Tim just coughed, spewing blood into the gag he hadn’t had time to remove. His muscles spasmed, rendered useless by the bite._  
  
_Jason had been looking down at him, from the side of the bed, peeking past the canopy. The sounds Tim was making seemed to have redirected his focus, even if just temporarily._  
  
_He stepped off the mattress, a bit clumsy from his recent mating, and lowered himself to Tim’s side. Bent, looking him over, sniffed his hair, cheek, neck, the bite mark. He started lapping at the wound, gently, until he was satisfied. Curled around Tim comfortingly, began cleaning the cum from his back._  
  
_And Ra’s, for whatever reason, hadn’t stopped him, while he called for the servants to treat their injuries._  
  
_Thinking on it further, Tim would eventually realize it was to make the events that followed even more horrifying, after such a peaceful, intimate interval.  
_  
_Jason, a bit clumsy, though still tender, stroked his hair as he shook and whimpered. The pain had faded, replaced slowly with Jason’s warmth._  
  
_Then Ra’s had cleared the room._  
  
_“Jason,” He’d said, and the omega had turned to him. “I want you to bend over the bed._  
  
_Jason hesitated for a moment, glancing at Tim, but. He’d gotten up, and followed Ra’s instructions._  
  
_The older man sighed. “It’s almost a pity he’s being so obedient. I feel a bit guilty.” He’d looked down at Tim. “Punishing him, when you were the one to act out.”_  
  
_The calm he’d been feeling just a moment ago vanished instantly. He’d tried to struggle, but his body didn’t respond the way it should’ve.“I warned you.” Ra’s said, like a parent chastising a misbehaving child.  “What would happen if you tested me. Who would get hurt. You made a gamble, and you lost. Time to pay your dues, detective,”  
_  
_Then the older man hoisted Tim, dropped him supine on the bed, legs dangling off the side. Taken his chin, roughly forced his head, so he could see Jason. Removed the gag.  
_  
_He’d leaned over, pressed his lips against the betas ear. “Now I know this is going to be difficult, but I want you to lay here, and I want you to watch. No talking. No turning away. And if you fail, I promise the next punishment will only be worse. As you’re about to see, I follow through with my threats. Do you understand, yes or no?”_

 _When Tim didn't answer, he repeated the question. "Yes." the beta finally said, through his teeth._  
  
_After getting confirmation, Ra's walked over to Jason, nudged his legs open. Jason relaxed into the bed, rolling his hips, and it had made Tim ache, that he didn’t seem to know that whatever was coming, wouldn’t be pleasurable._  
  
_Ra’s uncorked a vial one of the servants must have given him, dumping it’s contents on his cock. “Be grateful, that I can be such a compassionate alpha. That I am not so ruled by my rut I am unable to have even small considerations for my partner,”_  
  
_Then he’d spread Jason’s cheeks, and with no preamble or preparation, forced himself into Jason’s ass. If the liquid helped at all, it wasn’t obvious._  
  
_Jason had made a chilling, guttural noise, and Tim set his jaw so tight it hurt to remain silent._  
  
_The omega had jerked to get away, but Ra’s bared down on him, cutting off his escape. Then he tried to lash out at his attacker, scratching in Ra’s direction, but the older man simply grabbed him by the neck, squeezed so hard Jason choked._  
  
_“Shh, I know it hurts.” Ra’s said, sounding almost apologetic, like he wasn’t the cause of Jason’s distress. He loosened his grip, only a little. “But some lessons are best learned through pain.”_  
  
_Jason managed to latch onto Ra’s arm, digging in hard enough to draw blood, the only resistant thing Ra’s allowed. They’d stayed that way, until, finally, Jason released him, slowly melting into the bed, going limp. Resigned himself to whatever his alpha would do to him._  
  
_“That’s right.” Ra’s crooned. “Fear not, it will be over quickly. You are very tight,”_  
  
_When Ra’s pulled his cock back to begin thrusting, it had been painted lightly with blood, and with every movement, Jason made heartbreaking, sniveling noises, pleading little cries wordlessly asking what he’d done wrong, why he was being punished. The air was sour with his fear and confusion._  
  
_Tim’s vision had gotten blurry, but he hadn’t looked away._  
  
*  
  
Tim wasn’t cleared for active duty by the time Dick and Bruce were ready to confront Ra’s.  
  
He and Bruce had gotten into an argument so heated they’d both been screaming at each other.  
  
“You’re staying in this bed if I have to sedate you and strap you down,” Bruce had snarled in the end. “And that’s the last I want to hear about it.”  
  
He’d taken a few panting breaths. “Please, Tim. You’re still injured. We can’t worry about fighting the league, securing Jason despite whatever state he’s in, and protecting you. And…I can’t risk losing you again, right now. I can’t wrap my head around the possibility.” His hand rested on the line of his brows, hiding his eyes. “I just…can’t.”  
  
So he and Damian watched, miles and miles away, from the feed Dick had left open for them on his suit camera. Tim hadn’t bothered to ask Bruce. Already known his answer.  
  
Dick hadn’t liked the idea at first, either. Crossed his arms at the beta's bedside, a figure of authority, looming over him. “Tim. I don’t think it’s helpful for you to torture yourself and—“  
  
But Damian, for all their past troubles, and despite telling him earlier that if he tried to escape he'd be stopped by any means, had gone to bat for him. “Richard. It’s his right.” Damian had looked at him from across the room, locking his gaze “This involves him, too. He needs to see how it ends.”  
  
The feed crackled.  
  
“Ah, detective. I’ve been expecting you.” Ra’s voice sent a chill up Tim’s spine, like the alpha was still in the room with him. Damian, mercifully, did not bring attention to the way he shuddered.  
  
“Where is he?” Bruce growled, lunging at Ra’s, dragging him from the chair he’d been sitting in, slamming him against the desk. Dick held back, a lookout, while Bruce was hyper-focused.  
  
Ra’s huffed a laugh. “You look tired, detective. Has it been difficult to sleep, thinking of them in my bed?”  
  
Bruce slammed him so hard the desk creaked. “ _Where_?”  
  
“I do not know,” Ra’s told him, raspy from his breath being knocked away. “He escaped 48 hours ago. Well. Escaped is the wrong word, as it implies I tried to stop him.”  
  
The room went silent.  
  
Tim could practically hear Ra’s goading smile. “Oh. Has he perhaps, neglected to call for you?”  
  
“ _Liar_ ,” Bruce hissed after a moment, and Tim could see he was started to lose it, tension under his skin, threatening to explode, burn him and everything surrounding from the inside out.  
  
“You know me better than that, detective.” Ra’s said. “What I say is the truth,”  
  
“It’s not,” Bruce shouted. “He would’ve tried to contact us.”  
  
“Perhaps, detective, if your bird has not returned to its nest, it is because he does not want to? This is the second time, after all, that you’ve failed him. A boy can only take so much…disappointment.”  
  
Bruce snapped. He started beating into Ra’s, huge fists cracking his head left and right with every blow.  
  
Bruce grabbed him by the front of his shirt, to howl in his face. An move driven by emotion, not strategy. “ _Fight back_ ,”  
  
“Fight back, when I’ve already won?” Ra’s seemed to consider the idea. “If you insist.” Taking advantage of Bruce’s rage, he slipped in an equally powerful strike, gaining the upper hand. Dick fell into the fray, and it was hard to tell what exactly happened from there.  
  
“He was meant as a sign of goodwill between us. It was _my_ resources that saved and rebuilt him, after you let him slip through your fingers. But over and over, you have rejected my friendship,” Ra’s said at some point. “So I’ve decided to take him back. He’s better suited for my pack anyways.”  
  
With that, Bruce was done talking.  
  
Eventually, the image leveled out.  
  
Bruce was full body shuddering with anger, a few feet ahead.  
  
“You are wise, detective.” Ra’s snarled with bloodied teeth across the room. “But you are not worthy to be a pack head, if you show mercy now.”  
  
“Bruce,” Dick said, a warning.  
  
But the older man was already preparing to lunge.  
  
“ _Bruce_ ,” Dick shouted, so loud it became distorted in the feed, and the alpha stopped short of his attack. Tilted his head in Dick’s direction, just a bit. “Jason’s still out there. He’s all alone. And he needs us. He’s more important than wasting time with…this.”  
  
At those words, Bruce’s breath slowly evened out. He straightened up.  
  
When Bruce turned to go, Ra’s sounded almost disappointed. “He would be better living his whole life as my brood sow, than one day as your foot solider. At least, his life would be given meaning, and honored, in the end.”  
  
Bruce kept moving, and Dick followed behind him as a buffer. A fail safe.  
  
As they reached the door, Ra’s had called to them again. “No matter where he goes, he will always find himself back here. He is bound to me. I’m already inside him. It has been decided, long before this,” Tim could hear Dick’s breath becoming labored with every step, was reminded of the time he’d watched the older man beat the Joker into unconsciousness, and a short-lived death, at the mention of Jason’s name.  
  
Then.  
  
“Tell Timothy congratulates on my behalf, at least. Let him know our efforts were not in vain. We will both become fathers, by the time this is over. I am certain of it. Though, he may never get to—”  
  
The camera was clicked off.  
  
“It won’t be a big loss. If they do kill him, I mean.” Damian said, a bit detached. Tim didn’t answer him. Couldn’t. The next time Damian spoke, his voice was soft, thoughtful. “He’s done this on purpose. He wants Jason to try and isolate himself, like he has in the past. If he doesn’t come back to us, he’ll go back to Grandfather, in the end. He won’t be able to help it.”  
  
Neither of them spoke after that, and Tim had fallen asleep to the sound of static.  
  
Both alphas returned with empty, bruised hands. And after informing them that yes, Ra’s would live to see yet another day, Dick never did tell them what had happened, after the feed went dead.  
  
  
*  
  
_His one respite of the situation, was that Ra’s hadn’t knotted the omega in that sensitive place, instead flipping him to cum on his face and belly. Jason had laid there long after it was over, head turned to bare his neck, submissive, nonthreatening._  
  
_And Tim mirrored him, afraid of what any further infraction would lead to._  
  
_But Ra’s had simply called for the omega servants after that, and they led Jason away, still whimpering. Tim could see a thin stream of blood trailing down his flank, as he was taken._  
  
_“We are going to bathe,” Ra’s told him. “You will be with Ubu. I hope, for Jason’s sake, that you took my lesson to heart.”_  
  
_Tim moved only twice after they’d left, once when directed by Ubu to sit on the floor so the servants could air the distressed omegan scent, and then, when Ra’s and Jason had returned, over an hour later, so he could follow Ubu for his own bath._  
  
_Whatever had happened in the time they were gone, seemed to already have wiped the events preceding it. Jason was giving off a pleasing and satisfied smell, and he was already following Ra’s to the bed, when Tim went through the door way._  
  
_Tim had only taken note of his surroundings on habit, too shell shocked to even create a scenario plan. No windows. No sounds. Nothing distinguishable about the building, except that Tim was fairly certain it was underground. It was impossible to tell exactly where they were. The only part of the floor-plan he got was the room, the hall, and the next room._  
  
_The tub was square shaped, built into the floor, and big enough for up to 10 people, at least. The air and tiles still smelled of it’s previous occupants, one corner in particular especially potent. There was a small, doorless room nearby with a toilet and sink, which Tim used first. When he came out, he found food and water by the bath. He drank, but simply picked at his food, hadn’t really bathed. Dunked his head, once, and sat there the rest of the time, until Ubu told him it was time to go._  
  
_When Tim had returned and approached the tent, the smell made him dizzy even through the canvas. When he stopped at the entrance, Ubu shoved him on the back, forcing him through the flaps. He landed with a soft thud on the bed._  
  
_Jason had been on his back, comfortably nested in the pillows, while Ra’s worked in and out of him with his fingers, kissing his chest, tongue tracing over a nipple. The pitch of his moans heightened, every time Ra’s rubbed inside of him._  
  
_Without looking, Ra’s beckoned Tim over with a single finger of his unoccupied hand._  
  
_When Tim was sitting beside them, Ra’s pulled out of Jason, before grabbing Tim’s hand and leading it to this place his own had just been._  
  
_“Two fingers,” He’d said, showing Tim the correct form. When Tim imitated him, but did nothing with his shaking hand, Ra’s sighed. “If you’re not up to task, I’m sure Jason would be more than happy to be the center of attention for my guards. He probably would not even see it as a punishment. But the choice is yours, young detective.”_  
  
_Tim did what he was told without hesitating, after that, at first from the threat, and then eventually from the pheromones. Jason simply mewled under him, unaware._  
  
_Eventually, he came, leaving Tim’s hand milky and wet, and Ra’s directed Tim to get on his back so Jason could ride him. Ra’s had sat beside them, and watched._  
  
_Eventually, though, Ra’s pushed Jason a bit forward, fingering him in the same place he was being fucked. Then, taking position, he’d stroked his cock, and slowly pressed in alongside Tim._  
  
_Jason came on the first real thrust, with both of them inside him.  
_  
*  
  
Another three days, and Jason called him. Tim was scouting a neighborhood after Barbara had found a security feed with the older man in it, though it’d barely passed the facial recognition protocol she was using. The only thing he and Robin had been cleared to do, was ask around, Jason’s picture in hand, while Bruce and Dick looked for his base of operations.  
  
Even though they’d let him go, the league was probably still on Jason’s trail, never letting him past the amount of leash Ra’s allowed.  
  
Tim took one look at the unknown number, and scrambled to answer it. Damian was inside a local store, talking to the owner.  
  
“Jason?” He asked, instantly.  
  
At first, only silence greeted him. Then, so small Tim almost missed it, “Yeah,”  
  
Tim’s heart shuddered, conflicted. Jason was alive. But he sounded…bad. Jason’s voice didn’t seem like his own. Younger. And defeated, like a wounded animal that had been kicked down so low he’d never get up.  
  
“You look like shit. You should go back to bed.” Jason said, and Tim snapped his head in every direction, but saw nothing. There were too many buildings. He’d never be able to scout them all before Jason made his exit. Tim reached for his pocket, a test. “If you try to contact anyone else, I’ll hang up.”  
  
“Jason, where are you?” He asked, urgency rising, knowing how close he was, and yet still out of reach.  Jason wouldn’t be on the phone long. Had to know Oracle was monitoring all their lines, would be able to crack whatever safeguards he had. “I’ll come get you, right now.”  
  
He heard the sound of shuffling in the background, Jason readjusting himself.  
  
“I want you guys to stop,” Jason’s voice caught, sounded so fragile that the slightest pressure might break him. “Stop looking for me. I don’t wanna see you.”  
  
“You don’t need to feel embarrassed, or ashamed, or, if you’re mad, Damian can be the one to get you. Just, come back—back home.” Tim blurted out, mind trying to calculate every fear Jason had and quell them all in rapid fire, because they were running short on time. He didn’t want to have to ask himself later, if things could’ve gone differently, had he just said something else. “I don’t know what Ra’s has been telling you, but it’s a lie. We just want to see you. We want you to be safe, with us. You’re part of our—“  
  
“How can you say that to me,” Too much weight. The sound of shattering. Jason voice broke like glass. “After what I _did_.”  
  
Tim froze. He realized Jason was crying on the line.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Jason said, “Because I was stupid, because I...I made you…because I’m like this…he...”  
  
“Don’t say that. Don’t even think it,” Tim’s own voice wobbled. “You’re not the one who did something wrong, Jason.”  
  
Jason sniffed, and Tim kept talking, because every second counted.  
  
“Jason, he wants you to think you can’t come back, that there’s no where for you to go. He’s _trying_ to cut you off from the pack.” Tim told him. “Don’t give him what he wants. Don’t let him win—”  
  
“He already did,” Jason said, shuddering a long, exhausted sigh. “Times up. Bye, Tim,”  
  
“Jason, no, don’t. You need to come home, right now.” Tim’s voice got louder, without it meaning to. He snapped. “If you won’t do it for you, do it for the baby. Ra’s will force you to keep it, if you end up going back to him. You really want to risk your kids, any child, being raised by a monster like that?”  
  
Jason inhaled sharply.  
  
The line went dead.  
  
*  
  
_At some point, Tim had started crying again._  
  
_He normally wasn’t a crier. Never had been, even when he was young, always waiting until what he felt reached a point where he was so full he would burst if he held it in any longer. The problem had gotten worse with age._  
  
_Jason had been under him, and the tears splashed onto his skin. Tim had let out one, tiny sob. Snapped from his trance, Jason had looked at him, confused._  
  
_Then reached, wrapping his arms around the beta’s neck, pulling them flush together. “It’s ok,” He’d purred into the younger mans hair. Tim still wasn’t sure if he’d been aware what he was doing, or just following the primal instinct to comfort an upset pack member._  
  
_But he hadn’t let go, until Ra’s had forced them apart._


	3. Chapter 3

_The final day Tim was there, Ra’s, overtaken by the smell of Jason’s last peak, had intimidated him into a corner, teeth bared, and kept Jason for himself._  
  
_Tim didn’t have an alphas stamina, was already running on empty, so he’d simply laid there, scenes flashing by as he went in and out of consciousness._  
  
_He remembered outstretching a hand towards Jason, but grabbing only air. He was simply too far away. Tim just couldn’t reach him._  
  
*  
  
In the end, there hadn’t been a final battle, grand finale.  
  
Jason was gone one minute, and back the next.  
  
Bruce had called, informed them that Jason was with him, and that they would be returning to the manor, where they remained, mostly secluded, for almost a months time, save for when Bruce starting patrolling again after the first week. No one asked Tim to stay away, but he did, and no one brought up his lack of presence, either.  
  
Dick also seemed to be avoiding the manor, instead choosing to keep Tim company, visiting from Blüdhaven once every three days like he was on a cycle. But it was nice, falling asleep in the middle of whatever movie was picked, after a big meal, like things hadn’t changed. It was something he needed.  
  
He told his friends what had happened, some more than others. Kon had been so angry, he’d hit the rail they were sitting on with his fist, caving it inward. Steph had held his hand, cried for him when he was unable to, too drained. Cass had simply listened to him, across the room, letting him say what he needed to.  
  
They did not hear even a single whisper from the league.  
  
The first time they saw each other, it was because Jason asked him to come. While he made his way to the main room to wait for the older man, he’d passed the massive library’s door, which was cracked open.  
  
Jason had always loved to read.  
  
Tim remembered, shortly after officially becoming Robin, finding a stack of time piece romances hidden away in the small corner nook by the window. He’d wondered whose they were, so different from the mostly academic literature, until he opened the book sitting on top.  
  
“Jay. May love guide you, wherever you go. Mom.” The Pride and Prejudice’s inside cover read, in cursive. There was a tiny heart drawn next to the signature. Tim could see the faint outline where a second hand sticker was half peeled away. The book was barely held together from how old it was, and how much it’d been read. It’d been so fragile, part of it had ripped as Tim looked through it, right as Bruce walked in on him.  
  
He hadn’t gotten mad, but had quickly made his way across the room, plucking the book from Tim’s grasp, delicately placing it back in it’s spot. “Don’t. Those are…those are just for him.”  
  
And there they’d stayed, until Jason returned to retrieve them.  
  
He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but what he heard stopped him in his tracks.  
  
“You’re going to tell him. About the…”  
  
No answer. But he heard Bruce start pacing, back and forth.  
  
“You know, I would never force you to…” Bruce cleared his throat. “There are options. In the end, it’s your decision. Just yours.”  
  
“I can’t,” Jason said, in a voice so soft it didn’t sound like him. “It’s like…they’re already mine, you know? I…”  
  
“You should stay here.” Bruce’s voice got thicker, more commanding, but only for a second. “You should…be with me. It’s safer.”  
  
“We’ve been over this. I want my own…I wanna be…I can’t let this control my whole life, forever. I can’t let him take that much.”  
  
"Nine months, isn't too long. Just to be...safe."  
  
"Bruce. Please. I need..."  
  
Jason never asked Bruce for things. Never. He told him what he wanted, usually in the acting of taking it.  
  
A pause. Bruce letting go of the reigns. Forcing himself to, for Jason's sake, because he knew it was what he needed. “Whatever you choose to do, it's fine, Jason. But you’re always…there’s always a home for you, here. You’re my pup. Nothing can change that.”  
  
Tim peeked through the small opening. Bruce was scenting him, rubbing his cheek against Jason’s, then going for his neck, and what once would’ve been rigid, was now easy, probably having been done countless times over the past few weeks. Bruce straightened out.  
  
Jason was still for a moment, then thumped his head against the older mans shoulder, leaning into him. Bruce’s arms went up, held midair, uncertain, despite how confident he’d seemed with his actions a moment ago. But then, he’d wrapped around the omega, stroking his hair, down his back. Leaned into the embrace, reveling in it.  
  
“You used to be so small,” Bruce told him, showing a side of himself that had almost died along with Jason, forever. Had only been brought back to life, the bigger their family had grown, and even more so, when Jason finally returned where he belonged. “Look how big you are, now. I guess, Alfred was right, about drinking all that milk.”  
  
“B…” he heard Jason sniff. When Tim saw his shoulders start to shake, he turned away.  
  
*  
  
He walked into the kitchen just in time to see Alfred stowing away prenatal vitamins in boxes to be moved. They were all labeled with the areas their contents would go. But this box simply said, “BB”, in letters so small, he’d almost missed them.  
  
“Master Drake,” Alfred said, quickly closing the lid, moving the box out of sight. “It’s been too long.”  
  
“I thought it would be…easier, if I…”  
  
The butler nodded, understanding. He continued to rearrange boxes. “I just wish someone had told me you were coming. I would’ve made you a care package.”  
  
“Don’t worry about it, here, let me—“ Tim took the box from Alfred’s hands, a bit awkwardly. His thumb had healed strange, and he doubted it would ever return to its original state of use.  
  
Jason cleared his throat behind them. Bruce wasn’t with him.  
  
“Well,” Alfred said, looking between them. “I do believe Titus is in need of a walk. Excuse me,”  
  
Normally, Jason would’ve cracked a joke, probably about the mood of the room. Said something like, “Yeesh, who died?". Instead he just stood by the door, like he wanted the option to turn and run if he needed to.  
  
Jason took a deep breath.  
  
“Sorry it’s been awhile. I’m not mad at you. I don’t blame you for what happened. I’m just…” Jason said. He started to chew the nail of his thumb, though there was already barely anything left, and he looked so vulnerable, then. “You saw. Me, like _that_. I…”  
  
“It’s ok,” Tim said, because it was.  
  
Jason stopped biting his nail. Crossed his arms.  
  
“I’m pregnant. I thought you deserved to know, considering, it’s probably pretty likely…” He shrugged his shoulders, implying “what else is there to say?“. "I also just needed you to know, straight out, that…you won’t…be the father. I’m not saying you can’t be involved, but as far as…rearing, and…what they’re gonna know, that kinda thing…I…”  
  
“Of course,” Tim said. “Whatever you want to do, it’s fine.”  
  
That night, Tim sat on the roof of his apartment, looking at the stars, and wondered if things could’ve been different, in another life.  
  
*  
  
The next time he saw Jason, Gotham was literally on fire. They were in the middle of regrouping, were preparing to leave and meet up with Bruce, when Jason had arrived, in uniform.  
  
The room went silent as the grave, when he hopped off his bike.  
  
“You guys got invited to the party of the year, and didn’t invite me?” Jason said, but it lacked his usual vigor.  
  
Dick approached him first. “Jason, I’m glad to see you, but…” he rested a hand on Jason’s shoulder. Made his voice softer. “You think this a good idea? Considering...?”  
  
He was trying to diplomatic, the helpful voice of reason, but Tim saw six set of moves in the future. Knew where it would end. He braced for impact.  
  
Jason starting shaking with how hard he was breathing. He grabbed the nearest projectile, a monitor, and flung it so hard across the room it shattered into pieces.  
  
“You think I’m too _stupid_ to notice what you're trying to do?” Jason shoved an accusatory finger in Dick’s chest so hard it pushed him backward, and the alpha let him. His voice became a dangerous, warning hiss. “You really think you’re the first one to try it?”  
  
“I was trying to help,” Dick said, genuinely surprised. “I didn’t mean to—“  
  
“Help _who_?” Jason threw up his arms, motioned to all of them. “You think I can’t see the way you’re all _looking_ at me? Like I’m br—“ He snapped his jaw shut. Took a deep breath. Forced a smile. “Forget it. You don’t want me on the streets? I won’t be on the streets. You win. Happy?” His voiced cracked on the last word. He mounted his bike, and left.  
  
Tim doubted there was a single person present that was.  
  
“You insult him, Richard.” Damian said after the motor had stopped echoing off the cave walls. “He’s trying to prove he’s stronger than this, the only way he knows how.”  
  
“But he doesn’t have to be,” Dick said. “Stronger, I mean.”  
  
“Yes,” And Tim noticed the way Damian touched his own neck, lightly, probably without even realizing. “He does.”  
  
*  
  
Despite what he said, Jason did not stay clear of the streets.  
  
The only reason Tim found out, was because Barbara had called and told him. “Sorry, but you’re the closest one in the area,” She paused. “And he needs help.”  
  
He found Jason scouting out a small robbery from a rooftop. Two guys, loading various valuables into a van. Jason could’ve broken up the affair in his sleep, but. Tim knew he couldn’t let him.  
  
When Tim had crouched near him, observing the scene, Jason glared at him.  
  
“What are you, my knight in shitty armor?” Jason snapped, but Tim didn’t let it bother him. It was becoming obvious that Jason wasn’t upset with him, or any of them, not really. “I don’t remember asking for back up.”  
  
“I don’t think we’d invest ten thousand dollars on protection suits every year, if they were shitty.” Tim said, stretching, getting ready. “You shouldn’t be out here. Too risky. I’ll take over.”  
  
Jason took his concern and saw an attack. He bared his fangs, ready to defend himself.  
  
“Oh, what, I’ve been taking care of business for years, but suddenly everyone finds out I’m an omega, and now they think I can’t—“  
  
“I know for a fact you can. But you shouldn’t, because you’re pregnant, and you’ve decided to keep them.” Tim said, looking Jason in the eyes. “You’re…responsible, for more than yourself now.”  
  
“ _You_ think you can lecture _me_? _It doesn’t have anything to do with you_.” They both shrank back at the harshness in his tone.  
  
Jason he looked at him, a bit wide eyed, like the words were out of his mouth before he'd even realized what he'd said, then snapped his head away, ashamed. “Whatever,” he muttered, under his breath. “I just…wanted one last time, you know. I don’t even think they have real guns. I live right up the street…and I like the owner of this place. Sweet guy. Saves me the diamonds in the rough.” He said the next words softly. “Nine months is a long time. Be even longer than that, before I can…”  
  
Jason seemed to consider something. “I wonder if I ever will again, actually.”  
  
“Jay…” Tim started, but Jason shrugged.  
  
“Yeah. I get it.” Jason sniffed, standing up, brushing off his shoulders. “Go get em, tiger.”  
  
Tim hesitated on the ledge. “Have you thought about…talking to someone, about what happened. Professionally, I mean. It might be…good. I’ve been thinking maybe—”  
  
“What, we’d go to couples therapy? Have a pow-wow, a good long cry together?” Jason turned, so the only thing Tim could see was his back. “I don’t need your suggestions. And I don’t need your help, either.”  
  
The van below them roared to life, prepared to leave. Tim looked between the scene and Jason, uncertain. “Just. One second, please.”  
  
But Jason was gone, by the time he got back.  
  
*  
  
Out of the blue, weeks later, Jason came to him in the middle of the night.  
  
It was raining, and Tim had been having fitful dreams, only to be awoken by the sound of his window being pounded on. He’d jumped from the bed on instinct, weapon drawn.  
  
Then he saw the familiar silhouette, large figure crouched on fire escape. Tim disarmed the security, and walked over, unhooked the latch. “Jason?” he asked, carefully.  
  
“I need help,” Jason said, and he just looked…lost. His clothes were completely soaked, his normally curled hair matted to his head. He was shivering.  
  
“Of course I’ll help you,” Tim answered, reaching for his hand. “Come out of the rain, ok?”    
  
Once inside the apartment, Jason just stood there, staring into nothing.  
  
“I’m…glad you came over.” Tim said, smiling a little, trying to keep the mood casual. “I didn't know...I thought maybe you wouldn't want—"  
  
“I’m not,” Jason said. “mad at you. Just scared.”  
  
Jason, never, ever, said if and when something scared him. The idea didn’t even seem possible. The sudden honesty was what was scary, seeing how much Jason had been changed, flipped inside out, forced to show his vulnerable insides before he was ready.  
  
“You don’t need to be. Any time you need something, we'll be there,” Tim gently touched his arm, tried not to think about how much he wished Bruce had ripped Ra’s throat out when he had the chance. “What’s wrong, Jason?”  
  
“I need help,” Jason repeated, not elaborating further.  
  
“Do you need me to call Bruce…?” Tim asked, uncertainly.  
  
Jason shook his head, water droplets flying from his hair. “No. Don’t. Please. He won’t…he’ll worry, too much.”  
  
Tim bit his lip. Then he walked to the dresser. “Kon leaves a pair of clothes here, just in case. Let’s get you into something dry, ok?”  
  
Jason stared at the clothes like he didn’t know what to do with them. Tim cleared his throat. “Can I…” Jason nodded, and Tim, very slowly, like Jason was an animal he didn’t want to scare, reached for his shirt. “Lift,” he said, the way his dad had when he was small, needed help getting changed.  
  
Jason simply obeyed him, and in this setting, Tim could see just how much he’d been drained, how much stripped away. He was a shadow of his former self, after what had been done to him. Even Tim would never know the full extent of it, the weeks worth of time Ra’s and Jason had spent alone. He doubted anyone would, other than the two of them.  
  
He only spoke again after Tim got him out of his pants, his hands rested on Tim’s shoulders where the younger man had guided them as he helped to free his legs.  
  
“Can I use your shower?” Jason asked.  
  
“Yeah,” Tim said, a bit surprised. “It’s this way,” he said, showing Jason where.  
  
It occurred to him as they walked, that this was the first time Jason had ever been in his apartment.  
  
If things were different, he would’ve felt embarrassed, by how many files and books covered every surface of counter space. One cover in particular caught his attention, and when Jason wasn’t looking, making his way to the bathroom, no longer needing a guide, he shoved the book on pregnancy he’d bought a few days before, under a stack of folders, hiding it from view. The one he’d bought for Steph had been too dated, and too focused on beta’s.  
  
Even if in reality, he wasn’t going to be a part of what was happening, learning more made him feel connected, just a little.  
  
And if Jason showed up at his apartment again in the middle of the night down the line, he might need all the help he could get.  
  
Tim had brewed water while he waited, delicately placing every packet of tea he owned by the glass for Jason to choose from. But Jason was still in the shower, long after the steam had stopped rising.  
  
Tim hesitantly knocked on the door. “Jason…?”  
  
When he received no answer, he turned the knob. The bathroom, despite how much Tim forked over for rent, was small, with a single standing shower. Jason was sitting on its floor. He was awake, but his body was limp. The water was no longer steaming here as well.  
  
Tim knelt by the glass door. Swallowed. Gently tapped the pane. “Are you ok? It doesn’t bother me, but you’ve been in here for a while. I think the waters cold now.” Jason blinked, looked up at him like he just realized he was there.  
  
“It was warm.” Jason said, after a minute. “And I felt dirty.”  
  
Tim felt an aching sensation in his chest.  
  
“You’re not dirty, Jay.” Tim answered, not having to think about it.  
  
He saw the corners of Jason’s lips pull down for a moment.  
  
“Tim,” He said, and his voice broke. “My body wants him. I can feel it. Even after what he did, a part of me wants to go back to him. It’s like he’s still…inside of me, somehow.”  
  
His head lowered, shoulders sagging. “I don’t know what to do.”  
  
Tim was moving to his side before he’d even thought about it, had time to second guess himself. Jason always surprised him and made him surprise himself, do things he never thought he was capable of.  
  
He sat beside the other man, but the space was small, and their sides ended up touching. At first, he wondered if Jason would want the physical contact, but then the older man leaned toward him, and Tim opened his arms, an invitation. The older man collapsed into his embrace, head lolled against his collarbone. Tim rested his chin on Jason’s hair, paused, then gently began to stroke his back.  
  
Tim only reached up to clumsily turn the water off, but after that, neither of them moved for a long time.  
  
*  
  
They finally got up only when Jason’s shivering had become so intense it was no longer feasible for him to remain sitting there.  
  
Tim cranked the heat as high as it would go, helped Jason get dry and dressed, then led him to the bedroom. He covered the older man, who hadn’t stopped shivering the whole time he was there, with as many blankets as he could manage, and dimmed the lights.  
  
Then he changed his own damp clothes.  
  
He hesitated by the door. Jason stopped him as he reached for the knob. “Stay. Please.”  
  
He didn’t have to ask twice.  
When Tim got under the covers, Jason turned so his back was facing the younger man, but he scooted closer, so they were touching. Eventually, he stopped shaking, but his posture was tight.  
  
The moon outlined Jason’s form, and Tim traced it with his eyes.  
  
He heard Jason take a big inhale, saw him shift. “I n—…want you to bite me,” he said.  
  
Tim blinked.  
  
“I don’t know if—“ he started, but Jason cut him off.  
  
“I know what I’m asking for. If you don’t want to it’s fine, but don’t say no because of what you think you can decide what’s best for me.” Jason cleared his throat. “Please.”  
  
“Yeah. Ok.” Tim said after a moment, soft. Jason did a small nod, rolled onto his stomach, head turned to the side, and waited.  
  
Tim scooted closer, pushed himself up so he was looming over Jason. Noticed how tightly the older mans hands were fisted at his side.  
  
Tim wiped his lips on the back of his hand. Then melded them against Jason’s neck, open mouthed. He pressed his teeth in gently.  
  
This close, freshly showered and without scent blockers, Jason smelled amazing. There was an underlying element to it that hadn’t been there when Jason was in heat, that made Tim feel like he’d come home. He wondered…  
  
“Harder,” Jason grunted, shaking him from the thought.  
  
Tim inhaled, found his footing, and clamped down.  
  
Jason went rigid underneath him instantly, and he heard the older man gasp. When Tim pulled away, his lips tasted faintly like copper, and Jason still wasn’t moving, his eyes glazed like he was no longer there. Tim gently eased him onto his side again, then wrapped his arms around him.  
  
It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes, before Jason was asleep.  
  
*  
The next day, Tim couldn’t stop thinking about how much he wished he knew how to cook, instead of living off microwave dinners and canned coffee, Alfred’s occasional care package.  
  
He ended up deciding on Chinese leftovers from when Dick had been there. Not really breakfast, but it also didn’t matter, because Jason had slept, soundly, through the night, morning, and late into the afternoon.  
  
Jason awoke, exited the bedroom rubbing a bleary eye, as he pulled the bowl from the microwave.  
  
It was like he’d had a transformation, overnight. He looked well rested, alert. There was color in his cheeks.  
  
“Your sloppy seconds, huh? You sure know how to treat a guy.” Jason said, taking a seat at the bar counter of the kitchen. He reached for the bowl, tested a bite. Then scarfed down the rest so fast Tim worried he might choke.  
  
It was too early for Jason to be showing, and he seemed like his usual size, but. There was something behind his eyes that looked ravenous, unfed.  
  
“Have you been eating ok?” Tim asked, carefully.  
  
“Nothing, tastes good, anymore,”, he said, words between bites. “It’s weird, I grew up eating, out of the trash and stuff, anything I could get, you know, but. It’s been like forcing myself to eat sludge.” He stopped for a minute, but didn't look up at Tim. "Thanks, by the way. For everything. I know I've been...difficult. But you helped me anyways...and I'm...grateful. I really...really..." He didn't finish the thought. After a second, he simply resumed eating.  
  
He stretched after the final bite. Seeing him happy and fed, knowing Tim was the cause of it, made him feel oddly satisfied.  “Alright. My tanks full. I’ll give back the clothes after I wash them, ok? Tell your clone pal I said thanks.”  
  
“His names Kon.” Tim called for him right as he opened the door. “Next time, if you want to come by again, I can…cook you something for real. No leftovers.”  
  
Jason stared at him, and Tim felt himself start to shrink under his intense gaze. Then he laughed, given Tim a look like he’d said utterly unbelievable.  
  
“You, cooking? That, I’d pay to see.”  


And then he was gone.  
  
*  
  
_Tim wasn’t sure whether or not he dreamed it, but at some point, he’d felt the trace of fingers, gently touching the tops of his. A hand, though a bit hesitantly, still reaching in his direction._


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a short scene involving underage prostitution/assault.

Usually, when people wanted Jason dead or as a hostage, they weren’t subtle. He heard whispers of their intentions long before they’d even cemented their plan, and he often beat them to it. This time, however, he hadn’t even known he was being observed, that he’d caught someone’s interest, until it was far, far too late.  
  
He’d been following his target through a crowd, intensely focused to make sure he didn’t lose them. Thinking it over, that was probably how they’d managed to hide their attack. Too many bodies, but nothing out of the ordinary to shake him from his mission.  
  
He hadn’t even been able to tell he’d been slipped something, skin to skin.  
  
His concentration had been his downfall.  
  
It had happened very, very quickly.  
  
One minute he was walking upright, the next, his vision had gone fuzzy, and then, a few feet more and he’d tipped, caught in the arms of someone he never saw.  
  
He woke up, sore, in an unfamiliar, indistinguishable place, laid out on a bed, surrounded by a canopy, bound and gagged. But not how he normally was, like when he was Robin and someone had decided he’d be good leverage against the bat. This was effective, experienced, intentional. He couldn’t move at all. Then he realized he was naked, noted how his body was laid out, felt a small trill of anxiety.  
  
Did that mean his captors knew…?  
  
He tilted his head, vision blurry. That’s when he saw Ra’s, sitting next to him on the bed.  
  
He’d seen the alpha only twice since his rebirth, the first when Talia had pulled him like a newborn from the pit, and told him to run if he wanted to live. Ra’s looked like he hadn’t aged a day since then, young, renewed. Jason could practically smell the fresh Lazarus’ waters on him.  
  
The second time he’d seen Ra’s…the second time…  
  
“Do you know, when the best time to hunt a predator is?” The older man asked, not diverting his attention from the tablet he was reading. When Jason gave no kind of response, Ra’s finally looked at him, and the intense green of his eyes made Jason feel like he was drowning. “It is when they are so preoccupied with hunting their own prey they do not even see you on their trail.”  
  
He gave Ra’s a look, saying “really, Ra’s?” with his eyes, as he was unable to with the gag.  
  
Ra’s pulled the item free, and Jason didn’t waste the opportunity to run his mouth while he tried to figure out the restraints. “You know, I really wish you guys would learn, like, how hard is it to buy a guy dinner first, before you tie them up?”  
  
“If you are hungry, you need only ask.” Ra’s said. “It would be wise to eat now. You will need your energy. And soon you will be unable to consider such things.”  
  
Jason knit his brow, but tried to keep his face free from what he felt.  
  
Like father, like son, he guessed.  
  
“What’s the deal, Ra’s. I get you wanted to kill me, but this seems a bit belated. At this point, you gotta ask, is it even worth the effort?” The restraints were thick. Jason was laid on his back, his legs bent toward his chest, calves tied to thighs. He was collared, tethered to something outside the canvas. The restraints locking his wrists together went underneath his back, and his hands were at such an angle that they couldn’t reach anything. Freeing himself wouldn’t be a simple task.  
  
And for the past couple days, Jason just hadn’t felt like his normal, fast acting self. He was sluggish. Off, somehow. His head had been a bit fuzzy, and often teetered between temperatures. He’d been wondering, if he was getting sick. In Ra’s presence, the feeling seemed only to magnify, spreading. He just didn’t know why.  
  
Though, if he was honest, he hadn’t felt great for awhile, ever since he and Tim had gone their separate ways. No matter how many times Jason told himself it was what he wanted, he still found himself thinking about the other man, wishing things could’ve been different. But it was too late now. Jason had nailed shut their coffin himself. It was...for the best, really.  
  
Things were getting too...personal.  
  
“I have no intention of killing you. I will be frank, since you have earned at least that much respect. You are a means to an end,” Ra’s said. “But do not be insulted by this assessment. I would not have chosen you if I found you lacking in substance.”  
  
“You lost me.” Jason said, and he was starting to get annoyed, with Ra's for being vague, himself for getting captured, and how he was unable to find a weak point in the restraints.  
  
Ra’s stroked his beard, then leaned over Jason. With a single finger, he went from Jason’s throat, down his chest, stopping at below his belly button. The moment he was touched, Jason locked up. He felt growing unease in the core of his soul.  
  
“The pit helped you to bloom, but you seem reluctant to share your flower. Is it because you’re ashamed?” Ra’s asked, and suddenly the situation started to fall together.  
  
Jason broke out in a cold sweat.  
  
“Or perhaps it is the intimacy that frightens you?” Ra’s mused.  
  
“Why, you looking to get some?” Jason asked, hiding the growing full blown anxiety he felt behind humor and crudeness. “I guess you’re pretty old…maybe the only way you can get it up is with omega heats? Well, I hate to disappoint, but I’m on suppressants, and someone will definitely notice I’m gone before they wear off.”  
  
“Are you so certain? Your pack head has left you to fend for yourself, only checking in between intervals. It is his fault, really, for leaving you to be so easily plucked, not learning from his mistakes the first time. But I digress,” Ra’s smiled. “I have been watching you, Jason. There is a reason I chose now to strike. And as for your suppressants…”  
  
Ra’s revealed a small, familiar bottle from his pocket. He popped the lid, taking a pill, which he pulled apart, allowing the powder to fall on his palm. Then, striking quick, he took Jason’s face in his hand, letting the contents fall into his mouth.  
  
It hit Jason’s tongue, melting.  
  
Sugar, he realized.  
  
“Replaced under your nose over a week ago, when you had your prescription refilled.” Ra’s said. “The detective does not search for you, because he will not know you are gone until it is too late. They will be out of your system before he even starts looking.”  
  
Hearing the words was like having the wind knocked out of him. Every ugly thing he ever felt about himself and his skill level came to the surface. He felt very, very stupid.  
  
“There is no escape, Jason. So you might as well behave and relax. Soon lust will replace all your worries, whether you want it or not.” Ra’s tucked a stray curl behind his ear. Jason resisted the urge to go for his finger. Too soon. Too obvious.  
  
“Why go through all the trouble? I’m sure there are plenty who would volunteer willingly.” Jason asked. Always keep them talking. Distract, and get the most information you could about your situation. "It's not like I don't know what people say about omegas like me."  
  
“I would argue what separates you from the average omega, is also what makes you valuable...furthermore, they wouldn’t be proper bait, now would they?” Ra’s told him, and Jason’ s nostrils flared at the idea of being used to ensnare someone he cared about. Suddenly he wished he had gone for Ra’s fingers, even if he probably wouldn’t have succeeded. “I wonder, besides the detective, which pack mate will look for you the most fervently…you must be very special indeed, to have caught both of their attentions.”  
  
Jason suddenly thought of Tim’s face, the night he’d told him whatever existed between them meant nothing to him.  
  
“You leave Tim out of this,” Jason hissed. “I don’t get what sick obsession you have w—“  
  
“How can he be left out, when he is a key component.” Ra’s rubbed Jason's stomach, intentional, and the younger man felt sick. “But worry not. I do not intend only to use you without giving anything in return. You will leave with what you’ve always wanted, but been too afraid to ask for.”  
  
Ra’s pushed his legs apart, settled between them like he belonged there.  
  
*  
  
_Jason hadn’t known his father was an omega._  
  
_No one who met the man would've been able to guess, would've believed without the proof. Willis Todd did not meet any of the arch-types of any kind of parental figure, let alone an omegan one._  
  
_He hadn’t been a cruel father. He’d simply been an absent one, and on the times Jason had actually managed to see him, he was stoic and reserved to the point where it had been like Jason wasn’t even his child._ _Down the line, Jason guessed that was why it was so easy for him to fit next to Bruce, despite his natural mistrust of alphas. Bruce, in the beginning, had actually been more involved than his own father, despite how emotionally stunted he could be._  
  
_It only made sense when Jason witnessed his father in heat._  
  
_His mother was in the hospital again, and their financial situation was in dire straights. They’d moved from a nice-ish apartment, for crime-alley, to a building barely held together. Most of their things were sold off, so it had been a cold, empty den to stay out of the rain, instead of a home. The lock hadn’t even worked properly, and most times one of them ended up having to block the door with the small bookcase they owned, hoping it’d be enough if someone tried to take what little they had._  
  
_As an adult, Jason’s best guess was that between hospital bills and other expenses, his father had simply been unable to afford authentic scent blockers, prescribed suppressants, instead buying street corner knock-offs._  
  
_They hadn’t worked._  
  
_Back then, Jason tended to stay away from the apartment as long as he could, since there was rarely anyone there to begin with. And with his mother sick, on the rare times his father was home, it was like the distance between them had never been bigger.  
_  
_But he’d made an unusually good haul that day, so, tires in hand, he’d entered the apartment. Only to find his father held down by a man he didn’t recognize._  
  
_The air had been thick with an overwhelming smell Jason had only ever gotten hints of, walking the streets. There had been more than one alpha present, in the days Jason was gone, though only one seemed to have come out victorious._  
  
_Jason’s father had been big, probably fought off most of his would-be rapists._  
  
_Jason had always seen him as someone who couldn’t be beat. Had always tried to be strong, like him. But he hadn’t looked strong, crying out with every thrust of the alphas hips, totally overtaken by the feeling. It was as though he’d been twisted into a completely different person, unable to control himself._  
  
_It was the most terrifying thing Jason had ever seen._  
  
_Just as his fathers attacker was about to bite him, Jason cracked the tire iron over his head with all his strength, and the alpha didn’t get up, though he was still breathing._  
  
_No one had called the cops, about any of it. That’s just the kind of place Crime Alley was._  
  
_He’d dropped the instrument and rushed to his fathers side, nosing him, making worried little sounds he never had before. Eventually, his father had stirred._  
  
_He’d been covered in bruises and bites, was slick with sweat and white fluid Jason was, at that point, too inexperienced to recognize. He was shaking, weak from being mated over and over without reframe._  
  
_He’d scented Jason, purring comfortingly as he stroked his hair, pulling him close to be held, the most intimate thing that had happened between them in years. And Jason hadn’t left him once, as the last of his cycle tapered out._  
  
_After his father had regained himself, showering and dressing, he’d taken the alpha’s body away and done god knows what with it. Then, he returned, sat Jason down at the kitchen table. He’d smoked, and he let Jason take a drag, too._  
  
_“I know I’ve been hard on you. I know I’ve been distant.” His father said. “It’s been to protect what I am. But it’s been to protect you, too. Since we’re the same.”_  
  
_Jason had frozen at those words._  
  
_But his father just kept talking._  
  
_“I wanted you to be strong. You have to be strong, Jason. You can’t trust anyone. You can’t tell anyone. You have to hide it with whatever means necessary. Don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you they’re different. Don’t show anyone your belly.” He exhaled a long drag of smoke, watched it waft upwards. “The minute someone bites you, you’ll never be yourself again.”_  
  
_His father had looked so tired then, and all the years of bitterness over being held at a distance without explanation momentarily faded. Jason was suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to hold him, protect him, tell him it’d be ok, like his mother did when Jason was upset._  
  
_Despite everything, he always loved his father._  
  
_Then his father had looked at him. Looked at him like he really saw him, for the first time. And his eyes were glassy. “Be your own man, Jason. Whatever you choose to do, it’ll be fine. But live free.”_  
  
_It was probably the longest conversation they ever had._  
  
_And it was also the last._  
  
_His father had told him he’d be back soon, and that things were about to change, but in the end, he’d never come back home. Shortly after, Jason’s mother died, and Jason was all alone._  
  
*  
  
_Jason remembered the first time someone had found out he was an omega._  
  
_He’d been sucking off some John, a real handsy drunk guy who wouldn’t stop running his fingers through Jason’s hair, when the air had changed. The man had fucked his throat so hard he choked, and then cum all over his cheek._  
  
_Jason was small for his age, and he hadn’t eaten real food in days. He was fine to just kneel there while he regained himself, imagining what kind of food he’d buy, but then the man dragged him up by the hair, lifted him like he weighed nothing, clear off the ground.  
_  
_He kicked his legs wildly as his back was pressed against the brick. The man stunk like beer and something sour and thick and all consuming, and he was sniffing Jason, from neck, to collarbone, to ear._  
  
_“You didn’t—pay for—“ Jason tried to say, but then he felt a hand slide easily into his oversized pants. Felt a finger rub along the place he never showed to anyone._  
  
_“I knew it,” the alpha had crooned, and suddenly, he was being breeched by the tip of a single digit, yelping at the painful feeling. “Knew you were a bitch—“_  
  
_Jason had bitten his ear, clean off. When the man dropped to his knees, howling, Jason caught himself from the fall. He kicked the alpha as hard as he could, over and over, not stopping until he was sure the alpha wouldn’t get up, wouldn’t be able to follow him.  
_  
_Then he ran._  
  
_Hadn’t stopped running, until he was so far out of reach he’d ended up in a different neighborhood entirely. The kind where people could afford more than one car and a visit to the hospital and never had to worry about when their next meal would be. He’d hidden behind one of their dumpsters, finding a few savable scraps, and eaten slowly, like he was on autopilot. Then he’d cried, numb._  
  
_He stopped working street corners after that, planning to wait long enough for things to settle down, for the man to forget he existed. He put his efforts into his main business, jacking tires off the nicest cars in Gotham City, from people he knew shelling cash out for replacements wouldn’t be anything more than an mild annoyance._  
  
_That was how he met Bruce Wayne._  
  
*  
  
_Jason didn’t trust men, and he didn’t trust alphas, either, and if someone was both, Jason was wary of their every action, waiting for them show their real colors and strike._  
  
_So when the richest bachelor in Gotham City offered a nobody like Jason a home and a bed and the opportunity of a life time with no strings attached, Jason silently waited up at night, for the other foot to drop._  
  
_But it never did, not in the way he expected, at least._  
  
_Bruce was the first person who surprised him. Bruce was the first person who gave him a chance. Bruce was the first person who looked Jason, and told him he saw something good._  
  
_Jason imprinted on him easily, fell behind Bruce like he was his son, like they were a real pack._  
  
_But those early, easy, happy days, hadn’t lasted long._  
  
_Jason had found out his real father had been murdered, that he’d never be coming back, and that Bruce had lied to him about it, even though with good intentions. Jason had planned to murder Two-Face. Had wanted to, with every fiber of his person.  
_  
_He thought about all the times he almost called the local prison to look for his father, but didn’t, out of petty spite, and it fueled his rage._  
  
_The moment of truth came._  
  
_He watched Two-Face about to be crushed, and his body moved on its own, before he’d had time to consider his actions. In the end, Jason had saved his fathers killer, and walked away. He knew Bruce was proud, and that helped. He’d always wanted to make Bruce proud._  
  
_But after, he would stay awake at night, wondering what had happened to his father in those final moments of his sad, secretive life. Felt the guilt of failing to protect and avenge his pack. In Crime Alley, the first thing you learned, was to repay blood with blood. Every night as Robin, he watched the streets he grew up on ransacked by monsters, drug dealers and rapists and super villains who never got what they deserved in the end, while the victims who did manage to survive, were never the same._  
  
_It all started to eat away at him._  
  
_He never told Bruce outright, but he had a feeling, the older man was aware._  
  
_As Jason had gotten older, and the things he’d been pushing down were piling on so heavily they couldn’t be hidden anymore, he could see the way Bruce started looking at him, with sad, knowing eyes._  
  
_But they never spoke a word about it._  
  
_And then Jason had died, too._  
  
*  
  
Jason could only move his head, so he turned it side to side, looking for a way out. Snapped his teeth at the air, trying to fend off an attacker he couldn’t reach. Grabbed onto the bed sheets like a lifeline.  
  
Ra’s lubed his fingers calmly, one hand going to rest on Jason’s thigh. The younger man jerked it away as best he could, but the alpha simply repeated the action, with a better grip, this time.  
  
Then, with his wet hand, he traced past Jason’s flaccid cock, down to his most intimate place. Spread him with two fingers, looking. Jason flushed, hot anger and embarrassment clear on his face.  
  
But there was nothing he could do.  
  
So he clamped his jaw shut, took a deep breath, tried to center himself. Turned his head to the side, breathing through flared nostrils. And shut his eyes.  
  
Ra’s slowly worked the first finger inside of him.  
  
“I am curious…has Timothy managed to get this far?” Ra’s asked. When Jason didn’t answer, the Demon Head nodded. “I did not think so.”  
  
At first, it was just pressure. It was even a little uncomfortable, between Ra’s cold, lube covered fingers and how tight he was. But Jason didn’t actually mind that. Pain, Jason could handle. Pain, Jason could understand. He felt the finger wiggle, stretching a bit, and it was only…strange.  
  
It pulled out of him, went back in. Jason wondered if he could survive the whole ordeal by just laying there, while he thought of other things. Maybe Ra’s would even get bored, if he waited long enough.  
  
But then, with every movement, the feeling changed. Warmth trickled, then pooled in Jason’s hips, tingling, traveling up his chest, to his nipples. Slowly, Ra’s worked in another finger. Warmth turned to heat, the more they rubbed inside him, stretched him open. Before he noticed, his breath had changed, more like panting.  
  
Jason had fingered himself before, but it’d simply been uncomfortable, too tight, too sensitive. Nothing like how it felt now. He could feel himself getting wet, the slide of the digits getting easier and easier, until the resistance was totally gone, Ra’s moving within him effortlessly.  
  
Slow one minute, and brutal the next, Ra’s changed his pace, started slamming inside of him, curling his fingers with every movement. Jason gasped, unable to help it. More wetness.  
  
“So sensitive,” Ra’s remarked, low.  
  
Ra’s kept the tempo, and the moans were falling out of Jason before he could stop them, little “ah”’s that changed their pitch with every elevation of pleasure he felt. Ra’s pressed the fingers all the way in, just slamming them into Jason’s sensitive walls, and Jason’s vision flickered. So different from when he’d used his cock, a full body pleasure, all consuming.  
  
“Noo,” he whined. “What are you…what is this…”  
  
Ra’s, miraculously, stopped his movements. But what he asked told Jason the peace would be short lived. “Have you, perhaps…never…experienced this kind of pleasure?”  
  
Jason refused to answer him, instead enjoying his vacation from the assault, trying to use the time to recenter himself after Ra’s had managed to unravel him.  
  
But the idea seemed to have planted in Ra’s mind. He readjusted himself. Then, he finger-fucked Jason even harder, brutally attacking the spot that made him feel weak, without stopping this time. Jason couldn’t stop his voice from crying out, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything.  
  
Suddenly, the building pressure became to much, and Jason’s body tried to get away from the intense feeling, but there was nowhere to go. It kept getting higher and higher, until Jason thought for sure he couldn’t handle it anymore, then his body was locking up, and he was drowning in euphoria. The feeling didn’t stop, either, Ra’s still pounding him as he came with a choked cry.  
  
Eventually, he floated down, and, back to square one, he felt slight discomfort at the intrusion of his body, though it seemed distant in the post-orgasmic fog.  
  
Wetness was trickling down his thighs.  
  
Bleary eyed, he saw Ra’s pull out of him, tasting his fingers, and he looked pleased.  
  
*  
  
_The first time Jason let himself be seen, was by a man he was planning to kill._  
  
_He’d already slept with Talia, but that had been different. They’d both reached their peak in unconventional ways, more looking for a distraction from the shared heartbreak they felt._  
  
_It was some guy, a beta with a habit of selling his potent products to the most vulnerable members of society, getting his hooks into them deep before taking everything they had. He wanted Jason on his payroll, and he always had a guard with him._  
  
_But Jason had noticed the way the man looked at him, how he lingered on Jason’s skin with every touch, doubted it was only Jason’s skills that had caught his attention, and knew if he wanted to get the guy alone, all he had to do was ask._  
  
_Jason couldn’t tell anyone his secret, and corpses didn’t talk, so in that sense, it’d been perfect. He’d given the man a smile he’d noticed others seem to think of as charming, and asked if they could go back to his place, just the two of them._  
  
_When they kissed, the man tasted like whiskey and smoke. When he touched Jason, the omega didn’t feel a damn thing._  
  
_He’d gotten undressed like a chore, laid himself out of the bed like a feast, legs spread. He wanted it to be quick, like pulling off a band-aid. The man saw between his legs, and began panting. He’d practically jumped on Jason, kissing him, already rock hard against his thigh._  
  
_The man was clumsy, so Jason wasn’t aroused on his own, and there wasn’t enough lube. The man was getting impatient, wanted to move onto the main event, it was obvious. Jason told him to put on a condom, and the man rushed to do so._  
  
_He’d entered Jason, and the pain had been almost a relief in its familiarity._  
  
_But he’d also felt…lacking, somehow. So Jason had just laid there, wondering what he’d been expecting, what exactly he wanted.  
_  
_The man had died, still blissed out, after drinking a cup of coffee Jason made him, with a concentrated amount of his own product.  
_  
_Jason hadn’t let anyone enter him since._  
  
*  
  
_To Jason, Tim Drake hadn’t started off a person. He was a construct. All the things Bruce apparently wanted from him, but never got. A checklist Bruce had been happy to fill, the minute Jason had died. Another perfect son, like Dick, while Jason was the mistake they tried not to think about._  
  
_Then, he’d gotten lost in a cosmic battle for the fate of all worlds. Met the Bruce who loved him so much he broke his greatest oath, clearing the world of evil in Jason’s name._  
  
_But it hadn’t felt like a victory. This Bruce was an empty shell, solely focused on his mission, cutting off anything and anyone that slowed him down or got in his way. This Bruce didn’t live, simply existed. This Bruce died with Jason, years ago._  
  
_And that was never what Jason wanted._  
  
_It made everything Jason had been thinking seem wrong, selfish, empty._  
  
_He wondered, if his Bruce loved him this much, but things, for whatever reason, had simply turned out differently. For the first time in years, he donned a costume. For a few hours, he’d really, truly, felt like himself again, fighting by Bruce’s side. He’d even considered staying, in that world, with the Bruce that he knew for sure needed him._  
  
_Then he watched Bruce’s skull get caved in, dead before he hit the ground. He held the Bruce that wasn’t his in his arms. And returned home, changed._  
  
_Only to find his Bruce had been taken, too._  
  
_For weeks, Jason had despaired. Wanted to find the killer, but he was out of reach. Wanted to use the pit, but there was no body.  
_  
_He spiraled, purposeless, lost._  
  
_Tim Drake had appeared before him like a savior, a single light to guide him through the dark.Jason heard his theory through the grapevine, that Bruce was still alive, lost somewhere they couldn’t easily reach, and he remembered how it felt to hope again. His jealously and anger and pride had seemed so small, in comparison. He would’ve done anything, if it would return Bruce home._  
  
_So when Tim invited him to listen to Bruce’s final words, Jason jumped on the opportunity, though not for the reason given. He made his case. Two was better than one, after all. And nobody else believed him, except Jason. He was the younger mans best chance of success, his only hope, really._  
  
_Except, Tim didn’t trust him._  
  
_“Why should I?” He’d asked, crossing his arms. He looked and talked at Jason like he was an inconvenience, one more problem to deal with. “After everything you done, what assurance do I have you’re telling the truth? That you won’t throw this in my face, somehow?”_  
  
_He was wearing the costume modeled after the one Jason had in that other world, and Jason suddenly wasn’t in the room. He was in another Gotham, holding another Bruce, like he’d never really left that long, horrible moment. When he didn’t answer, Tim huffed a sigh, as if to say “typical”, and turned away. And Jason. Jason had panicked. Even though he had a feeling it was pointless, he laid himself at Tim’s feet to be judged._  
  
_“Please,” Jason had said, and the word seemed to stop Tim in his tracks. “He’s the only thing I have left.”  
_  
_Something about the way he said it, seemed to click._  
  
_Tim turned back to him, looking him over, with sharp, calculating eyes, doing a cost benefit analysis. Jason suddenly felt naked._  
  
_“You’ll follow my lead.” Tim said, carefully, setting the framework. “And you won’t kill anyone.”_  
  
_And just like that, Jason had been saved._  
  
_They became partners, and slowly, Tim Drake, became a real person, and not just an idea._  
  
_The more Jason noted his personality and interests, the harder it became to connect the Tim Jason had imagined, and the one he spent time with. And in turn, it became harder to resent him, though it had been a slow process._  
  
_At first, Tim was domineering, uptight, overlooking everything Jason did with a critical eye, never letting his guard down, and while Jason couldn’t hold it against him, per se, it was starting to interfere with his work._  
  
_“Look,” he said, when Tim had been following him like a prison warden in the space they were both supposed to be scouting. “I get we have some issues, but you need to put some faith in me, or we’re never gonna get anywhere.”_  
  
_“I’d love to, but you’re not really known for using your head, when things get dicey.” Tim snapped, irritated. “And I’m not about to lose my chance to get Bruce back, because you can’t keep your cool.”_  
  
_Jason just kept walking. He hated to admit it, but the words hurt. He’d known he had a tendency to rashness, when he was Robin. But the idea that it was what he was known for, what his legacy was, made him feel small._  
  
_He cleared his throat. “Have you taken a look in the mirror lately? I don’t think I’m the only one who’s being ruled by my heart.”  
_  
_He could practically feel Tim glaring at him. “What are you talking about.”_  
  
_“You live off canned coffee and sleep like 3 hours a night because you’re overloaded with cases. You’re talking about me screwing everything up,  but what’s gonna happen if you stretch yourself too thin?” Jason made an exaggerated shrug. “I’m just saying, at least I’m getting my eight hours of beauty sleep.”_  
  
_“I was there when you took a nap in the cave, Jason. Didn’t really sound like you were having a good dreams to me.” Tim paused, like he was considering something. “Did you know you talk in your sleep?”_  
  
_Jason froze, and Tim ran straight into his back. “You were saying—oof—“_  
  
_“Anyways,” Jason said, quickly, starting to walk again. “I think we should tell the kid, uh…Robin, about what we’re working on.”  
_  
_Tim didn’t follow him. “Why would we.”_  
  
_“He was raised by the league, probably knows a lot about bringing people back. And if you think Ra’s is up to something, involving the company…” Jason turned back, flashing a light on Tim, who was staring at the ground. “It’d be a lead, at least. And…Bruce is his dad. Like…his actual dad. He deserves to—”_  
  
_“We don’t need his help.” Tim said, with a finality that implied Jason had struck something without meaning to, so he kept digging.  
_  
_“You should give Robin a break. He’s bratty, but he’s just a kid. And his family life…isn’t the best.” Jason made an hand motion. “He needs this. Needs what being Robin will give him.”_  
  
_Jason didn’t know it, but what he’d found was a land mine._  
  
_“What would you know about it?” Tim’s voice was rising with every word. “I gave up everything—everything—for Robin. Because that’s what Batman needed. My whole life, my childhood, my friends, my family. Everything I am. And then it just gets taken away, by some kid who doesn’t even believe in what we stand for? How is that fair?”_  
  
_Jason shushed him, looking around the space. “You want someone to know we’re here? I thought you were supposed to be the collected one—” Jason looked over his shoulder, noticed Tim was shaking. He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure what to do. The idea that Tim felt that way, was capable of feeling that way, had never once occurred to him. In some ways, it was almost like looking in a mirror, but Jason didn’t really like the reflection. “I mean…it’s not. Fair.” Jason said, slowly, shifting his weight. “But that’s just how it is, sometimes."_  
  
_After a bit, Tim started following him again, but he seemed listless, and it made Jason uneasy. Something heavy hung in his throat, trying to get out._  
  
_Jason didn’t like vulnerability. Preferred to dance around how he felt, only tried to show his trauma when he wanted to hurt someone else. The idea of revealing his sensitive spots to Tim as a sign of good will put him on edge. Showing someone where you could be hurt, was just asking them to take advantage of that weakness, somewhere down the line._  
  
_But at the same time, part of him just wanted Tim to feel better, because he knew what it was like to lose the one good thing you had.  
_  
_“Look. I’ve been there. Trust me. But, even if your costumes different, you’re still helping people, you know? That’s…supposed to be the most important thing, isn’t it? It’s just a change of clothes. Nothing about you is different. And for the record, I think red and black suits you just fine. Looks almost as good as it did on me.”_  
  
_Tim stopped for a minute, as if to consider his words. When he finally caught up, he walked next to Jason, not skulking behind him. “It’s better than Dick’s first solo costume, at least.” Jason had snorted, before he could stop himself, and Tim had given a tiny smile in return._  
  
_And suddenly, he hated Tim Drake less and less._  
  
*  
  
Jason blinked up at Ra’s, still shaking a bit from his orgasm. The older man was undoing the knot of his robe, and Jason, realizing, struggled in vain. He tried to bring his legs together, but they were easily pushed apart.  
  
“I do not intend to fill you this time. It is too soon.” the older man told him, and Jason realized he was rolling on a condom, slicking himself with lube. “So just relax, it will be easier. This is what you were made for.”  
  
Jason didn’t want it to be easy, wanted to be difficult, right up to the end. He slapped his thigh into the older man, but at the angle, he wasn’t able to build up enough momentum. It was more of an annoyance than anything else.  
  
Ra’s simply pushed his leg back, fit himself between Jason’s legs. Jason could feel his huge cock, rested near Jasons hip. Ra’s took himself in hand, and Jason felt the blunt head at his entrance. He was breathing hard again, unable to help it.  
  
But he wouldn’t let himself beg. He’d experienced this sort of powerlessness before. Though, if he’s honest, he would’ve preferred the crowbar.  
  
He was thankful at least, that if Ra's was planning to use him like an incubator, that he seemed to be doing things on a schedule. It gave Jason a chance. Time to figure out how to escape.  
  
Ra’s rubbed himself against Jason's folds. “I will admit, I find the idea of being inside you before he had the chance rather arousing. I do not think this will take long,” Then, Jason was being entered, speared open.  
  
Jason threw his head back in a gasp, could feel himself being stretched, forming to Ra’s shape. There was a slight pinch, just a little discomfort, and the alpha was all the way inside him. Jason lifted his head to look at the place they were joined, and let out a low, short groan.  
  
“So tight,” Ra’s grunted, giving him some time to adjust, rolling his hips in short, gentle thrusts. Then, after feeling less resistance, he began pull himself out to the tip, lazily working his way back inside.  
  
Similarly to being fingered, Jason felt only slight discomfort at first. Then Ra’s snapped his hips, hard, and Jason arched.  
  
“I wonder,” Ra’s said, keeping the pace, and Jason bit his lip to remain quiet as he felt the same pressure building, though more intense, this time. Jason felt like he was stuffed to the brim. Every movement hit the place inside him that made him feel as though he was going to fall apart. “What they will think of you, after this. They already give you quite a long leash, for an omega in the West.”  
  
Jason bared his teeth, gave Ra’s a feral look.  
  
“You don’t need to be insulted. I don’t think any less of you, anyways,” Ra’s said. “Even some of my soldiers share your designation. Though, they are not raised to hide what they are. They are not ruled by it, but they do not deny their urges, either. As you can see, it leads to problems, if they try. Omegas are creatures dictated by instinct, after all.”  
  
Ra’s wrapped his hand around Jason’s throat, cutting his air, massaging his scent glands, and Jason went limp, like his body wasn’t his. He gasped, and it was like he was floating. His eyes rolled back, so he didn’t see Ra’s lean in close.  
  
His hips were on fire, packed to the brim with pleasure so intense he couldn’t take it any longer, unlike anything he ever felt in his life.  
  
“You see?” He felt the alpha whisper, by his throat.  
  
Right as Ra’s scraped his teeth against Jason’s skin, not quite a bite, Jason came.  
  
*  
  
_The second time he saw Ra’s, after the pit, was the night he kicked Tim Drake out of a window to his death._  
  
_Jason got to the top of the stairwell just in time to see his limp form go through the glass. He’d run to the edge, knowing there was no way he would make it in time. But when he’d looked to the ground, there wasn’t a body. He saw the faint flap of a cape in the distance. And Jason had felt…relief._  
  
_They hadn’t been working together long. But Tim was his partner now, a crucial element in reviving Bruce, Jason reasoned. And he’d just saved everything the man stood for, been willing to die to protect it. That was why._  
  
_Jason turned his attention to Ra’s, wondering if it’d be the last thing he ever did. “Kind of an unfair fight, Ra’s. Little guys not really known for his physical prowess.” He smiled, baring his teeth. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?”_  
  
_Jason wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, when he saw Ra’s again. He knew the older man had wanted to kill him when he burst free from the pit, put him down like the rapid dog he’d been, but had never really ended up trying. He wasn’t sure what he was, in the immortals eyes._  
  
_Ra’s had looked at him, surprised, like out of everything that had occurred that night, even Tim finding a way to beat him, Jason being there was the last thing he would’ve expected. His lips had parted, and when he spoke, it was soft. “Fascinating. You’ve come to the aide of man you hated so deeply, a short while ago? You challenge me in his place, knowing who I am, what I am capable of? He has changed you this much, already?”_  
  
_“It’s complicated,” Jason had told him, before lunging._  
  
_A short while later, Ra’s managed to knock the breath out of him. Jason landed on the floor, rolled, pushed himself up.  
_  
_“I did hear you two were working together.” Ra’s said, but it was almost…observational, instead of conversational. “But I did not think your partnership held any…depth.”_  
  
_“What can I say? He's not so bad, once you get to know him.” Jason winked, before managing to get in a good punch._  
  
_Jason was lucky, that Ra’s was already injured. In peak form, the fight would’ve been a lot shorter. Jason had let himself get out of practice, between running himself ragged and his enforced non-lethality. Ra’s looked down at him, shoulder bleeding where Jason had managed to reach his target. But Ra’s didn’t seem bothered, mind still milling over something Jason couldn’t understand._  
  
_“Why would you not go for a lethal shot?” Ra’s asked him, holding the blade he’d picked up at some point to Jason’s throat. “I know your aim is better than this.”_  
  
_Jason shrugged, nonchalant even in the face of certain death. “Someone asked me not to.”_  
  
_Ra’s eyebrows raised, just a bit. “Timothy is quite lucky…to make friends with even someone such as yourself so easily. Though, I suppose he would have a knack for taming wild beasts.”_  
  
_“Not his friend, definitely not his pet,” Jason spat, begrudgingly. “I’m his partner.”_  
  
_“Yes. I do suppose you are,” Ra’s whispered, and Jason felt a small trickle of blood go down his neck when the alpha added pressure against the blade. "You know, I did promise Timothy that at least one person would be dead, by the time the sun came up."  
_

_"Sunrise's is already here," Jason smirked, motioning weakly to the window with his thumb. "And killing me didn't seem to work out too well, the first time. But you're welcome to try."  
  
"Yes," Ra's mused. "I do suppose I am. But I wonder..." The blade pressed a bit closer to his throat. Jason waited for the final blow, but it never came. For whatever reason, much to his surprise, Ra’s had let him live that night._  
  
_Later, Jason had made his way into the cave with codes Tim had given him, and after making sure the area was clear, taken a seat by the younger mans bedside. He’d dozed there for a bit, unable to understand why he cared._  
  
_Unaware, that even then, the two of them were being watched._


	5. Chapter 5

_Falling for Tim Drake, hadn’t been part of the plan.  
_  
_Their alliance was supposed to be temporary, just until Bruce was brought home.  
_  
_Looking back, maybe it was inevitable. The long hours, the late nights, shared only between the two of them, as they went over every possibility. Except, they hadn’t always talked work.  
_  
_“C’mon,” Jason said, taking another slice of the pizza he’d brought. He realized, as he took a bite, that until he started working with Tim, he’d always eaten alone. Usually, Jason went for what was quick, easy, and high in protein. But it was supposed to be a celebration, the first he'd had in awhile, for saving the company, and both of them, escaping Ra's alive. He’d even bought beer, though he seemed to be the only one drinking it, since, as Tim said, he “wasn’t 21” and it was “illegal”. He really should’ve guessed. Still. The company wasn’t bad, at least. “Most embarrassing moment as Robin. I told you mine.”  
_  
_Tim had still been laughing behind his hand. There were tears in his eyes. “You—that—that could’ve have been a thing—“_  
  
_“Oh. It was. The edge of my cape got stuck in the panties. I walked around for like, 6 hours, with a wedgie. Thankfully some newspaper stand clerk had the decency to tell me.” Jason took a swig. “The second most embarrassing thing, was, oh, man, I uh, I ripped this girls shirt open once. On accident, obviously. I was trying to grab her, you know, while she was making a break for it. She ended up getting away, cause, I couldn’t look. Bruce was pissed.”  
_  
_“How noble of you,” Tim had said, but his voice implied sarcasm.  
_  
_Jason shrugged. “I try.”_  
  
_Tim fidgeted for a few seconds, like he was a can of soda that’d been shaken, was gonna burst. He’d turned to look at Jason, and the older man smiled, made a hand motion as if to say “your turn”._  
  
_“I flashed some people. On accident.” Tim said, looking away so there wasn’t any eye contact, and Jason practically choked on the beer in his mouth. When Tim didn’t say anything, he leaned over.  
_  
_He gently held the glass to Tim’s cheek, and the younger man shivered. “Timbone, you can’t start a story like that and not give any additional details. I’m hanging on your every word, over here.”_  
  
_Tim had sighed, swatting the glass away, then curled his hair behind his ear. “Me and Steph were chasing some guys. Smugglers? I think. And she didn’t hook her line right. So, she was falling, and she reached to grab for me, but her hand landed on my belt, and—“  
_  
_Jason gasped. “Oh, man. Please tell me this was in front a big window.”_  
  
_“Office building. All glass.” Tim said, and Jason fell back, cackling. “Thankfully only a few people were working that late, but…I’m still amazed there weren’t any pictures, like in the newspaper.”_  
  
_“I mean,” Jason said, wiping a tear from his eye. “Maybe deep web. Oracle probably has them, somewhere.”_  
  
_Tim looked at him, like the thought hadn’t occurred to him, and his face was red. His hair, not quite long enough to be held on its own, had fallen out of place. Before Jason thought about it, he tucked it back.  
_  
_They stared at each other._  
  
_Jason laughed, a bit forced, leaned away. His heart had been beating, fast. Tim was looking at him, and it felt like the younger man could see right through him, no matter what he did. “You gotta hear this one then, uh, something similar happened with Bruce once, you know—“_  
  
_So Jason had done his best to appear unaffected.  
_  
*  
  
He almost escaped once, about a week in. His body, off suppressants for the first time in years and about to enter its fledgling heat, was all out of sorts. One of the guards caught him, but instead of trying to take him back, overwhelmed by the scent, had tried to mount him. Jason still had enough sense to play along, until he got close enough to land a blow, latch his teeth in the mans neck. And that’s how Ra’s found him, with a mouth full of flesh and blood.  
  
But, he hadn't fared so well against Ra’s, or been as lucky. The alpha had lived so long, he was able to remain unusually lucid in Jason’s presence.  
  
“I am impressed with you, Jason, to remain so skillful in such a state. But I can’t allow this to happen again, after all I’ve done to orchestrate what’s to come.” Jason could feel that Ra’s was hard, dick pressing into his back. “Though maybe I also find myself not wanting an exemplary omega to slip away, as well. It has been a long time, since I’ve considered keeping one in my chambers. I suppose, I am still only an alpha, after all,” Ra’s leaned closer. “I was hoping to save this until we were joined, but, it may be necessary, to dissuade other contenders, and your combative nature…”  
  
Jason, understanding his meaning, swiped at him, but his arm was easily caught, forced into an uncomfortable position. Something that would bind them to each other, the alpha whispered.   
  
Then he felt Ra’s lips on his flesh.  
  
Couldn’t remember what words were spoken after that, the sound his own heart beat drowning out all other noise. He felt a sharp pain in his neck, followed instantly by the overwhelming feeling of euphoria, and it was over after that. He still tried to fight, but not in any capacity that would’ve made a difference, until, slowly, he forgot why he wanted to fight in the first place.   
  
He remembered a story. Something about rituals. Omegas, in the past, only allowing themselves to be bred by the most impressive alphas that managed to take them down. Survival of the fittest, passing of superior genes.  
  
The closer he’d gotten to heat, the less he could remember. If he had to make a comparison, Jason would’ve said it was like being black out drunk. Flashes. Small moments, he could recall in the vaguest of terms.  
  
Bitten. Ra’s forcing his body into the correct presentation, over and over, as Jason rebelled against him fruitlessly, until he finally did it on his own, submitting. Being mounted, being entered, being fucked. The feeling of the first knot catching inside him, the warmth as he came. Being filled. Bitten again.  
  
Rinse and repeat.  
  
Ra’s overpowered all his senses, dominated him completely.  
  
“Now that—been knotted—, multiple eggs—,” Ra’s told him. “Just in t—, since—“  
Nothing.  
  
And then, out of nowhere, a scent so relaxing it’d drained what little conflict was left, replaced it with only desire, like everything happening was something he wanted. In some ways, it’d been almost like a pleasant dream.  
  
Until he woke up.  
  
As he came down from his last peak, the world slowly reassembled, fell back into place. He was still being fucked, but he almost didn’t feel it. He was just…tired. There was the bed, blankets, pillows. A body. He squinted. Ra’s slammed against him forcefully, but he could only groan. The final knot caught, and he simply laid there, resigned. His vision blurred.  
  
A head of black hair. A smaller, scarred frame. One outstretched hand, the thumb at an odd angle, reaching for…something.  
  
Jason tried to lift his head, but couldn’t. Then he felt fingers in his hair, pulling him up so he could see. “He tried his best. But he is only a beta. Don’t hold it against him,”  
  
Realization, cold and terrible. “Tim,” he called, but his throat, like the rest of him, was raw.   
  
Ra's dropped Jason back into the mattress, slipped a hand around to begin stroking his belly. “All things worth having, come from sacrifice, breaking down the old, to build the new.”  
  
Jason reached for Tim’s hand, and he just barely made it.  
  
Right as Ra’s bit him for the final time.  
  
*  
  
_Something in Tim’s eyes had flashed. He’d snapped his head towards Jason. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of this,” He said, scooting closer. “Jason, how did you come back? I’ve read the file, but Bruce kept it pretty vague.”_  
  
_Suddenly, Jason was six feet under, trapped in a box, running out of air. Memory worked like that for him, sometimes. In the present, and then, in the past, so vivid it was like he never moved forward at all. He blinked, came back to reality. Tim looked less interested, and more worried. Jason laughed it off. “Sorry to disappoint, but it won’t help what we’re trying to do. I was dead, and then I was alive. Don’t know why or how.”_  
  
_Tim’s brow pinched. “Did the League…?”  
_  
_Jason leaned back into the couch, spread his arms over the sides. Looked at the ceiling. “Nah. That came later. Coincidence. I just…woke up in the coffin. At first I thought, you know, the Joker was just playing a sick prank or something. But I focused on just, digging my way out.” Jason rolled his head. “I was pretty messed up at that point. Brain damage. Kinda a blur from there, till Talia made me take a nice Pit bath. After that…”_  
  
_“After that…?” Tim asked, leading him on._  
  
_Some part of Jason knew he shouldn’t answer. But another part of him wanted someone to know. “Ra’s wanted to kill me, so Talia rushed me out of there pretty quick. Told me not to look for Bruce, cause the Joker was still alive, etc, sent me on my way. She…saved me. She rebuilt me. Made me whole again, but…better.”  
_  
_Tim didn’t seem to hear the last part. Focused in on a small portion. “She told you that, right after you were dunked in the pit.”_  
  
_Jason felt uneasy, seeing the way he was being looked at. “Yeah. What of it?” Tim didn’t answer. “What.” Jason said, suddenly anxious, and in turn, annoyed. “What is it?”_  
  
_“Jason,” Tim said, and Jason could see how careful he was trying to be, with his words. Like he was walking on eggshells, more concerned with not breaking them, than talking to Jason like a real person. It was starting to piss him off. “Have you ever thought…have you ever stopped to consider, that maybe…when she told you that, fresh out of the pit…it…influenced…how you viewed what happened? One of the pits aftereffects is psychosis. And you were, what…17? Barely? Talia was an adult. And she didn’t exactly have Bruce’s best interests at heart—”_  
  
_Jason had stormed out on him, in the end. Hadn’t wanted to hear it._  
  
_But when he was alone, back in his apartment, he sank to the floor, and wondered how much of himself was Jason Todd, and how much was whatever Talia had created._  
  
*  
  
The next time he awoke, he was in the League headquarters. After his heat, he’d been expecting pain from all he endured. But he felt oddly relaxed, pleasantly warm. He almost fell back asleep. But then he remembered Tim, mangled hand grabbing at nothing, and tried to sit up. He was gently pushed down.  
  
“The young detective lives, but you will not find him here. It is only us.”  Ra’s was beside him. He put down the book he’d been reading, reached to stroke Jason’s hair. Jason didn’t have the strength to fight him, but worse than that, he found there was only a small part of him that wanted to.  
  
“Don’t...touch me.” Jason said, closing his eyes. But Ra’s didn’t stop the motion, like he hadn’t even heard him.  
  
“You were exceptional,” Ra’s informed him, moved to stroke his neck. “I could not ask for a more dutiful omega. You will be a wonderful mother as well, I’m sure.”  
  
Jason shuddered, tried to sit up again, but was kept in place. So he just looked down at his stomach. Shakily laid a hand there. “You don’t know…you can’t know if I’m…”  
  
“I can. I am quite old, Jason, I have partaken in and witnessed many matings. I know what to look for. There is a particular scent omegas give off, when they’ve been properly bred.” Ra’s rested his hand over Jason’s. “My assertions that one is Timothy's though, are based more on, shall we say, a ‘gut feeling’.”  
  
What little color had been on Jason’s face, drained away. “Tim’s…?”  
  
“Don’t hold it against him, Jason. Your scent was simply overpowering, to such an inexperienced beta. He couldn’t resist mounting you, though he tried.” Ra’s smiled. “I’m actually quite glad, I could be present for such a momentous occasion.“  
  
Ra’s barely dodged the strike Jason made in his direction. “I’ll kill you,” Jason hissed, already planning how. “I don’t care if they never take me back for it, I don’t care if I die too, the minute I escape, I’m going to—“  
  
Ra’s laughed, an actual, full body sound.  
  
“Escape? I do not intend to keep you prisoner, Jason,” Ra’s told him, leaning back into his chair. He rubbed his chin, considerately. “That would be a poor environment for a healthy pregnancy. Though, I do at least hope you stop to consider, the ramifications of trying to carry a litter to term without your alpha present.”   
  
Jason sucked in air. “You…are not my alpha.” He said, low and warning.  
  
“If that is what you choose to believe, I can’t stop you. But your body knows the truth.” Ra’s easily invaded his space to rub his neck again, and suddenly the anger he felt was slipping, and all he wanted was to be touched. He knew the thought should bother him, but suddenly, he had trouble remembering why. “Furthermore…you really intend to return to a pack that will see what you carry as a burden, rather than a gift?”  
  
The warm feeling was gone, replaced with chilling uncertainty. He wanted to argue, to say that his pack would support him through anything, that he knew they loved him. When he was Robin, it would’ve been easy. But Jason was a grown man now. And with age, came the realization that more often than not, the only person you could count on was yourself.  
  
Like a predator who could smell the sickest, weakest link in the pack, Ra’s cornered him in his fears, went for his throat. “Do you think either detectives want to be tied down with the responsibility rearing pups creates? Do you really think Timothy is ready to be a father? He and your pack head both have strong ideas of nobility, will certainly argue that they will support you through anything to keep their idealistic image of themselves in check, but in the end, they’ll only resent you, and the children, for all your perceived robbery of time and resources.”  
  
Ra’s shook his head in exaggerated sadness, like he was an onlooker, and not the perpetrator of the offenses that led to Jason’s current situation. “They are not the type of men to be ruled by their feelings, Jason. They see only their mission. And if they have to pick, it will not be you or your pups they choose. You know that, have known, for some time. You bare the mark that proves it.”  
  
Ra’s ran a finger lightly over the scar on Jason’s neck where Bruce had cut him open to save the Joker’s life, before he began to massage his scent glands again, as if trying to relieve the distress he caused.  
  
“You…say all this like I won’t choose to terminate,” Jason managed to answer, but there was no conviction in his words. Suddenly he just wanted to go to sleep. He was so tired, exhausted even, of realizing over and over, that he was only ever second best, second choice. That the people he loved, never returned his dedication, or his affections.  
  
“I know you won’t. You were willing to die for a woman who held no relevance in your life but blood ties. You will not snuff out the lives of children growing within your very body. You are incapable of it.” Ra’s leaned over him, slid his hand up to cup his cheek. “I know it hurts, but consider this an opportunity. I’m offering you and your pups the world. Unlike their mother, they will want for nothing as they grow, be raised to embody the heights of human perfection. They will be heirs to all that I own, the greatest empire on earth. And you will be free to pursue the righteous world you envision, under a pack head who supports you. You can have the family you’ve always wanted, Jason.”  
  
For just a second, the omega in him considered it. But it was a second too long, and Jason was left with only disgust for the alpha next to him, and himself.  
  
“I know what kind of person you are, Ra’s.” Jason growled. “I hope you don’t expect me to actually believe all this campy family bullshit, especially after what you’ve done.”  
  
Ra’s smiled, and his eyes gleamed. He pulled away, and Jason’s skin ached at the loss. “I expect nothing. You are free to walk out that door and try things on your own if that is what you wish. I’m simply extending a hand in your direction. You must be the one, to choose to take it.”  
  
*  
  
_Tim must’ve been able to feel him staring. He squirmed in his seat, like a bug under a microscope. It’d been a few days since his list of Gotham’s biggest threats had been revealed, and Damian had been found among its ranks.  
_  
_“He’s a killer.” Tim said finally, still not looking away from the monitor. “He was raised by the League. I just thought it would be prudent to keep an eye on—“_  
  
_“He’s 10.” Jason had snapped, jumping on the opportunity to vocalize his disgust. “And you’re right. He was raised by the League. But he’s still out here, every night, trying his best. Trying to figure out how to be better. And you just told him none of it matters. That no matter what he does, how hard he tries, he’ll never be able to change his fate.”  
_  
_He’d thrown his arms in the air, pacing, so angry he couldn’t speak for a moment. He hadn’t been this mad, especially at Tim, in awhile. Maybe that was part of the reason he felt so…disappointed. He was starting to see the younger man differently. Knew he was…better, than whatever this was. He stopped, jabbing a finger in Tim’s direction._  
  
_“Not everyone can be as blessed as you, to be born into an environment with your best interests and moral standing in mind. And to be honest, if he does go down the wrong path, it won’t be his fault. It’ll be yours. Cause you’re supposed to be his family, his real one, and you just told him he can only ever be his worst self.”  
_  
_Then, unable to help himself, he went for the killing blow. “Congratulations, I guess. If we can’t find Bruce, you should have no problem taking his place. Since you two are exactly alike.”_  
  
_Tim went rigid in the chair. Snapped his head to look at him, opened his mouth like he was about to argue. But nothing came out. Jason huffed, turned to leave, and this time, it was Tim who was left staring holes in his back._  
  
_But just as he was about to exit, he stopped, remembering. Put his hand on the door-frame like an anchor to keep himself there, though a part of him was afraid to ask. “Why am I not on there. After everything I’ve done, shouldn’t I…”_  
  
_Jason hadn’t finished, and Tim hadn’t answered._  
  
*  
  
Tim’s words rang in his head, long after their conversation had ended.  
  
_“If you won’t do it for you, do it for the baby. Ra’s will force you to keep it, if you end up going back to him. You really want to risk your kids, any child, being raised by a monster like that?”_  
  
It had been keeping him awake at night, despite his best efforts to stay well rested. His body felt wrong. Food had no taste. Everything smelled sour. He didn’t feel safe no matter where he went. His neck ached, though Jason wasn't totally sure it was just from the bite-marks and bruises that covered it.  
  
He felt incomplete, like he’d left a part of himself behind.  
  
In the end, he’d called Bruce. He didn’t bother with niceties, didn’t have the energy for them. “Don’t ask me where I am. Don’t try to trace the call. I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me.”  
  
He’d heard Bruce inhale sharply at the sound of his voice. “Alright, Jason.” He said, finally. The sound of Bruce taking a seat, settling in. “Can you at least tell me first, if you're saf—“  
  
“I’m peachy. And I’m also the one, who’s gonna be asking the questions. That was your first and only strike.” Jason finished. He swallowed. “What’s…going to happen, if I come back. What are you going to do.”  
  
Jason reminded him quickly, that it was honesty he was looking for. The line was silent. “I’m…not sure, Jason.” He heard Bruce readjust. “It would depend…on the…certain specifics, of your situation.”  
  
“I’m pregnant.” Jason confirmed the question that Bruce couldn’t ask. “I’m pregnant, and I want to know…if…if I come back, are you…are you going to treat it like a problem, or are you really going to help me?” Bruce didn’t answer, so Jason just kept filling the silence. “Are you asking me to come back because you really want me to, or just so you can sleep better at night, knowing you tried? Do you actually want me home, or is me coming back only going to be treated like another problem—“  
  
Bruce gasped softly. “Is that what you think…? That I see you as a…problem?”  
  
Jason pinched his mouth. “Am I wrong?”  
  
“I…” More silence. Jason repeated the question, slower. “Of course not, Jason. You’re…none of this…was…”  
  
Jason waited like a man in the guillotine stocks, for the deathblow he knew was coming, but couldn’t avoid.  
  
“It’s my fault. All of it.” Bruce said, finally. And just like that, the wind had been taken out of Jason’s sails. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t this. “I…the reason I couldn’t…didn’t want to face you…was because I didn’t want to face what I did. That I got you killed. That I was responsible for…what happened after. So I…avoided you. Because I’m coward. Because it was easier.”  
  
He heard Bruce shudder a sigh. “This…is all my fault, too. You wanted to work alone, since you feel out of place…with us. Even though you’re pack, you think you don’t belong. And Ra’s…took advantage of that. If I was…if I’d been…it’s no one’s fault but mine. I’m always failing you. I’m sorry, Jason. I can’t…I’ll never be able to say it enough. But…I want to help you. I want…I want you to let me try, at least.”  
  
Jason’s lip wobbled. He picked at a stray thread on his jeans. “What’s going to happen, B. You didn’t answer my question.”  
  
Bruce cleared his throat. “We’ll…stop by a clinic, first. For a preliminary exam. Make sure everything’s...going well. That you're...uninjured, and 'ok'...health-wise. Maybe stop somewhere to eat…you can…anywhere you want, is fine. Then take a red eye to the manor. It’ll be vital…that you’re with me. To counteract the effects of Ra’s…bites. After some rest, we can…sit down and discuss options—”  
  
“Will you support my choices?” Jason asked. “Even if they’re not ones you agree with?”  
  
A worryingly long pause. “It’s a bit…hard to say, one way or the—“  
  
“Honesty, Bruce.”  
  
“It depends,” Bruce answered. “But I wouldn’t want to…undermine you in a way that…took away your agency. Not…purposefully. If you kept them…if you gave them away…or if you decided that it was too much, that you wanted to terminate, I…think those decisions are…should be, just yours. But if you…decided, that…if you tried…to go back to the League with them…I…would do what it took, to stop you.”  
  
Jason bit his lip. “I’ll come back on one condition.”  
  
“Yes,” Bruce said.  
  
“You find a family. A good family. They can’t be connected to…what we do. At all. Ever. It’d even be nice if…they didn’t live in Gotham. And if anything happens to me…if I can’t…” Jason’s shoulders sagged. “Bruce, if something happens to me, or I change my mind, I don’t want them raised by our pack. I want them to have good, normal lives, and I want you to respect that, without…going over my head, somehow. You’d have to let them go.”  
  
“They’d…be safer…with us—“ Bruce started, but Jason didn’t let him get that far.  
  
“You have to promise.” Jason said, closing his eyes, as he fell back into the hotel mattress. “Find a way to keep them safe, but don’t involve them in…all this.”  
  
“I…promise.” Bruce said, after what seemed like an eternity. “But that won’t happen. They’ll…be with you. And you’ll be…with us. Come home, Jason. It’s where you belong.”  
  
Jason gave him the address.  
  
*  
  
_Jason still remembered the first time he saw Bruce, after he’d returned home. Tim had called him, told him to hurry over to the cave, not explaining why. Jason hopped off his bike, had made his way towards the main platform._  
  
_“Alright, what’s the big surprise—“ Jason had stopped on the staircase, mouth open. Bruce was on the landing. Jason couldn’t see his face, but the younger man would’ve known him anywhere. A part of him was afraid, in the seconds before Bruce turned, that maybe he was wrong, maybe it was a mirage, the promise of something that would never come to pass._  
  
_But then they were looking at each other. Bruce hadn’t been expecting to see him, either, it was clear in his expression. Neither of them said a thing. Both didn’t want to make the first move, were suspicious of being hurt, and afraid of hurting._  
  
_In the end, it was Tim who acted as the bridge between them. He came down the steps to where Jason was. “It’s time,” He whispered, resting a hand on Jason’s back. Then he smiled. Moved to take Jason’s hand, and pulled him the rest of the way up the stairs, on equal footing with Bruce._  
  
*  
  
One day, he realized that seeing Tim had become a regular event. That once a week, he found himself on the beta’s doorstep like a stray, begging for scraps, and instead, was fed in full.  
  
He asked Tim for the same thing, every time, and Tim gave it to him without argument or question. Every now and then, they would talk, after. Nothing overly involved, Jason often left groggy from the effects. Tim would ask for easy advice on a case, or Jason would give him small details of how things were moving along. Sometimes, they’d watch a movie in silence. But most often, they simply fell asleep, Tim curled over the older man like a security blanket. And to Jason, for a good ten hours, the world was completely peaceful.  
  
Tim started cooking like he promised as well, made him breakfast every time, and so close to being bitten, it was always Jason’s best meal of the week.  
  
After his nights with Tim, Jason woke up well rested, and left satisfied.  
  
He’d started wearing turtlenecks to cover what was happening, but he had a feeling, from the way Bruce looked at his change in wardrobe, that the older man had already figured it out.  
  
He asked about it only once.  
  
“If he’s hurting you...if you’re uncomfortable…”  
  
Jason had simply laughed. “C’mon, B, it’s Tim, we’re talking about.” He ducked his head a bit. “If anything, I’m the one…taking advantage of him.”  
  
"He wouldn't do it if he didn't want to." Bruce gave him an odd look. “I don’t want to tell you what to do...”  
  
“But you’re going to anyways,” Jason said, arching a brow, leaning back in his seat. “This ‘aughta be good.”  
  
“I think you should reconsider, what part Tim plays in...” Bruce made a gesture in Jason’s general direction. “If you really don’t want him involved, that’s...one thing. But if you’re limiting his input because you think you’re doing him a favor...”  
  
Jason had laughed again, but it wasn’t as convincing this time. “You really think Tim wants to be a dad? You think he’s ready to play a part he never asked to be cast in? He just turned 20. He’s got his whole life ahead of him. Hell, I’m older than he is, it’s my decision, and I’m still not sure if I’m ready.”   
  
Bruce looked at the teacup. An antique from the Wayne collection, Alfred had given him as a housewarming present. “My mother always said...that you never really feel ready to be a parent.” He took a small sip. “But Tim should be the one to decide whether he is or not. Isn’t that what you’d want, if you were in his shoes?”  
  
They’d both finished their chamomile in silence, and Bruce didn’t bring it up again, allowing Jason to choose if and when such things were discussed. It was somehow a nice change of pace, and familiar at the same time.  
  
Things returned to relative normalcy. Before he knew it, the early months had gone by, he began to see small changes in his body, physical proof of what had been only abstract at first.  
  
His desire to return to the League, slowly faded, took the passenger seat, as Jason gained control of the wheel.  
  
And it was in this time, when Jason lowered his guard, started to believe things were going to be ok, that everything went to shit.  
  
*  
  
_When Jason returned from Ethiopia, he’d been ready to ignite Gotham from the ground up. He wanted everyone to feel where he’d been burned._  
  
_After taking the car and leaving Bruce, watching him get smaller and smaller in the distance until he’d been gone completely, Jason had driven as far as he could before the gas hit empty, bat-mobile puttering to a stop. At some point he’d started crying fat, angry tears. Punched his already bruised hand into the dashboard._  
  
_He should’ve seen it coming. It should’ve been obvious the minute Bruce asked him to tag along, that he’d had ulterior motives. That he’d never just want Jason for the sake of having him around._  
  
_Stupid. He was always so fucking stupid.  
_  
_He’d actually thought things were going well, actually been dumb enough to believe Bruce might ask, if he was ready to rejoin the— what was wrong with him? Always trying to believe in a man who would never, had never, given a damn about him.  
_  
_He’d looked at the passenger seat, eyes filled with tears, remembering what it’d been like to sit there. How big and beautiful and open the world had been, for the first time in his life. How he’d really believed, he could go anywhere. That the man beside him, loved Jason like a son, like his real flesh and blood, more than anything, the way Jason loved him.  
_  
_It was so sad, it was almost funny.  
_  
_In the end, he’d sold the car for scraps, watched personally from the sidelines as it was disassembled, piece by piece, then burned what little was left, and returned to Gotham, alone._  
  
_The first time he’d seen Tim, the younger man had tried to talk to him about what they were going to do regarding Bruce. How the alpha was slipping, getting worse each day, from the loss of his son._  
  
_It hadn’t gone well.  
_  
_“Oh, please. Let’s not pretend being called his son is anything but an empty title to feel better about following a man who doesn’t actually give a shit about us either way.” Jason scoffed, like he was joking around. But his chest simply ached.  
_  
_“What’s your problem?” Tim snapped at him. He must’ve felt betrayed, expected Jason to be on his side, after all the effort they’d gone through together, to regain Bruce in tact. Jason almost felt bad for disappointing him.  
_  
_“How am **I** the one with the problem? You guys are the ones who’re nuts, acting like all this is normal.” Jason had exclaimed, exasperated. “Why is it so hard for you guys to just admit how fucked up everything is?”_  
  
_Tim crossed his arms, and his voice was flat, annoyed. “What are you talking about.”_  
  
_Jason started pacing, back and forth, full of energy with nowhere to go. “C’mon, he’s a grown man who keeps snatching up vulnerable kids and telling them the way to a better world is being target practice. You ever think about that, Tim? What all the Robins have in common? Our defining trait, is we’re all indoctrinated young, and we’ve got a fucking expiration date. And it’s set for when we start asking too many questions, or when we die. He keeps saying it’s the worst thing to happen to him, but does he actually make any difference to how he does things? No. Why? Same reason he can’t kill for the greater good, because it doesn’t really matter how many get hurt or die, as long as Bruce keeps his status quo. He lives for this, Tim. He needs it. He’d be an empty shell without it. And I know, cause I’ve fucking seen him, in the world that doesn’t need Batman anymore.”_  
  
_Tim stared at him in stunned silence._  
  
_“You don’t…really believe that.” Tim said, quietly. “Robin…Robins more than Bruce. More than any of one person. We stand for something. It means something, even if…even when one of us…”  
_  
_“No,” Jason finished. “Damian, a child, died, and it wasn’t for any greater good. It wasn’t for anything. He’s just fucking dead.”_  
  
_It began to rain._  
  
_Tim had slammed his fist into a nearby wall. “You take that back.” he hissed. “You’re insulting his memory. Damian wasn’t some ignorant kid. He knew the risks, but he made the choice to take them anyways. Damian died because he thought the people here were worth fighting for…because he believed this city was worth saving.”_  
  
_“He was 10. He wanted his dad to be proud of him, and he thought the only way he would be, is if he put his life on the line. And Bruce didn’t tell him he was wrong.” Jason suddenly didn’t feel like arguing anymore. He’d burned through his adrenaline, all his energy. Tired. He was always so fucking tired._  
  
_Dying had been like going to sleep, a nice, long, permanent nap. Sometimes he wished he'd never woken up._  
  
_“You’re wrong. It wasn’t for Bruce. Damian believed in what Robin stood for, the hope it brings, so much, that he was willing to make real sacrifice for it. He died a hero.” Tim didn’t waiver on the words, and Jason wondered what it was like, to still believe in the concept. “But maybe you wouldn’t be able to understand that. You died because you were reckless, and you’ve been blaming everyone and everything but yourself for it ever since. It’s pathetic, Jason.”_  
  
_Just when he thought he couldn’t get any lower, someone found a way to kick him down. Jason wished he’d been wearing his helmet. He felt too exposed._  
  
_Jason turned to go, and Tim called him, once, soft. But didn’t follow it up with anything. Didn’t take back what he said._  
  
_“Dead villain, dead hero, dead idiot who can’t keep his cool…they’re all just fucking dead.” Jason had looked at the ground. “And none of it means a thing.”_  
  
*  
  
At 15 weeks, he lost one of the pups.  
  
There had been three of them in total, perfectly healthy little humans in the making. He’d looked at those early ultrasounds, and he’d felt only amazement, like discovering a small flower under ash, after the forest had been burned away. Beauty, flourishing after hardship.  
  
Something had stirred within him, that he didn’t think he was capable of feeling.  
  
They hadn’t met, didn’t even exist concretely within the world, but Jason loved them with all his heart.  
  
When he received the news, Jason didn’t know what to think, was only numb. One appointment everything had been fine, the next, there were only two remaining heartbeats.   
  
There was no conclusive reason why. It could have just developed wrong, wasn’t able to sustain itself. It wasn’t Jason’s fault, there was nothing he could’ve done differently. Sometimes these things just happen, he was told.  
  
Sometimes these things just happen. He kept hearing the words, long after they’d been said.  
  
They wouldn’t need to do much. The fetus would either be broken down and reabsorbed, or carried to term, stuck in its final moments while the other two continued to grow, and then be removed at the birth. Something about that seemed morbidly fitting, like he was carrying death inside him, the way he always had.  
  
Jason could see the pity, the sadness in doctors eyes as she told him. She asked him to try to relax, take care of himself, stay healthy for his remaining children. She was a Crime Alley local, someone Jason had been previously acquainted with and picked himself. He’d considered Leslie, but wanted a bit more space from the family. To keep his private life, private.  
  
This was the exact sort of reason why. If nothing else, he was glad he made the choice he did. The wound was too new. Too raw. He wasn’t ready to share it, with the people who had leverage in his life. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be ready.  
  
This woman wasn’t a total stranger, he trusted her, but there was a professional distance he appreciated. She was just his physician, he was just her patient. She rested a careful hand on his knee as she discussed how to move forward, next steps. Jason just told her that he needed some time.  
  
“Time is the best medicine,” she said, nodding. But Jason wasn’t sure that was true.  
  
The worst part, he thought, was how much the baby had developed up to that point. He could see the shape of them, their body taking form, defined, tiny little fingers, soft curved nose, had imagined what it would be like to hold them, began wondering what they would become, as they grew.   
  
All those things gone, so quickly.  
  
“Should I call someone?” She asked, hand already rested on the phone. She at least knew Jason well enough that she would need to act before he got cold feet, “No one should be alone, through something like this.”  
  
Jason just shook his head. “I’ll do it.” He got up, tried to smile. He didn’t think he was doing a good job, from the look she was giving him. “Thanks, doc. I’ll…check in soon.”  
  
Jason ended up in the lobby, scrolling through his contacts. It was a very short list. Eventually, he settled on Tim, finger hovered over the call button. Every time he got close to pressing it, he pulled back, until, finally, his finger slipped without him meaning for it to.  
  
He stared at the dial screen as the call tried to connect. Tim picked up quickly. Jason didn’t put the phone to his ear, but he could hear his name being called. Everything felt so far away.  
  
The words were on the tip of his tongue, tidal wave against a fragile dam.  
  
Across the room, he saw a new mother, tenderly holding her child, like they were the most important thing in the world.  
  
He put the phone to his ear, opened his mouth. It felt unusually dry. He wet his lips, tried to say what he needed to. Instead, he pulled away.  
  
Jason was always pulling away.  
  
“Sorry.” He coughed a laugh. “I called you by mistake.”  
  
“Oh, ok,” Tim said the words like he was releasing a breath he’d been holding. “Well, maybe it’s a good thing. I wanted to ask, did you wanna come over, tonight? I know it’s not our…usual, but. Dick and I rented Emma, and I thought, maybe, you’d—“  
  
“Sorry,” Jason said, and it didn’t even feel like he was the one talking. It was almost as though someone else had taken over. He was in the passenger seat. “I have plans, tonight.”  
  
In the end, Jason was his own worst enemy. Not Bruce, not the Joker, not Ra’s. Jason.  
  
He hung up, and called a cab.  
  
*  
  
_He’d been sitting on a rooftop, nursing a beer. He hadn’t been sleeping well. Hadn’t been doing much of anything, well._  
  
_He didn’t even hear Tim approach._  
  
_The younger man sat beside him, and Jason had only sighed, wished he had more fight in him. He was only in his twenties, but he felt old. “Can’t a guy drink on his own fucking roof without getting a lecture?”_  
  
_“I’m not here to lecture you, Jason.” Tim said quietly, and he sounded resigned. Jason arched a brow, waited. “You were…right.”_  
  
_Jason blinked, surprised. “You’re gonna need to be more specific,” Jason said with a forced smile, like Tim hadn’t caught him completely off guard._  
  
_“Bruce told me what he did…in Ethiopia. I didn’t think he could…do something like that. I mean, I guess I did, but. It’s hard, when you love someone, to…admit they’re flawed. And Bruce is…really, really flawed.” Tim tucked his hair behind his ear. “I’m sorry, Jason. That was wrong. Cruel. You didn’t deserve it. And…it’s ok, if you’re upset. If you decide, you can't forgive what he did.” Tim looked at him. “And I’m sorry for what I said, too. I was wrong. I didn’t know what I was talking about. You were…you are, a good person, good Robin. And it’s not your fault you died.”_  
  
_Jason went limp, stared, validated, freed. He watched Tim reach over, grab one out of the six pack, struggle to remove the lid correctly. Jason took it from his grasp and opened it himself, like he was on autopilot. Still processing. He watched Tim take a small sip, laughed a little when he wrinkled his nose at the taste._  
  
_"Well, I apologize for...trying to beat you up, more than once. Not my proudest moment." He joked. Then he frowned. "Seriously, though. Sorry. I was angry, and I took it out on you. That wasn't...it wasn't ok. "  
  
Tim shrugged. "My relationship with Steph started when she hit me in the face with a brick. I'm used to it."  
  
Jason laughed. "Maybe this is a sign we're on the fast track to date." Tim went totally red, choked on his beer. "Kidding, kidding. Relax." Jason said, waving the subject away.  
  
They both drank in silence, for a moment._  
  
_“You’re probably the first person who’s said something like that to me, you know.” Jason admitted, finally, as he looked back at the horizon, over the city. His lip pulled a bit. “I thought…the reason he invited me, was because he was gonna ask me to rejoin the pack. That after everything that happened, and then...with Damian, that he would want…” his shoulders sagged. “It doesn’t matter what I thought.”_  
  
_Tim had been looking at him, like he was an open book, like he could see everything Jason was._  
  
_“Do you want that?” He asked. “To rejoin, I mean?”_  
  
_“I used to,” Jason took a long drink. “But there’s no point, now.”_  
  
*  
  
Jason made it all the way back to his apartment, before he finally allowed himself to unravel. He slid down the back of his door, closing his eyes, lashes already wet. He was prepared to stay there, for however long he needed to…but then he heard a noise, down the hall.  
  
In his kitchen.  
  
He shot upright, rubbed his eyes dry, sniffed. Even though they’d talked discussed matters of privacy and personal space, Bruce still had a bad habit of showing up unannounced, especially on days he knew Jason had appointments. Though if Jason was completely honest, he didn’t totally mind the impromptu visits, being checked up on. At least Bruce wanted to see him.  
  
“B…?” He called, turning the corner. He sniffed the air, heavy with an alphas musk. It was almost exactly like Bruce's, but…something was off. “That you?”  
  
He recognized the scent right before he saw its owner.  
  
Ra’s was in his kitchen, sitting at his table, using one of his cups, totally relaxed, like he wasn’t an intruder, and in fact, belonged there, in Jason’s home. He looked totally unchanged since the last time they’d seen each other, save for three long slash marks along his cheek, all the way down his neck.  
  
Jason wondered distantly, how he’d gotten them.  
  
He didn’t get up, even when Jason took one, then two, full steps back. Merely blew the steam from his tea. “Jason. You’re looking well, all things considered. Come sit with me, won’t you?” Jason’s eyes flashed in the direction of the door. “There’s no point in running.”  
  
“Let me guess, because you have the place surrounded?” Jason finished, trying to smile like he normally would’ve, before what Ra’s had done to him.  
  
“Because neither of us would risk putting extra strain on your body, damaging the precious cargo you hold. So come sit and relax.” Ra’s patting the spot beside him. “All I want is a little time, and for you to listen to what I have to say.”  
  
Jason’s hands fisted at his sides. He cautiously made his way over, took a seat. Ra’s held out a hand, waiting, and Jason turned over his phone. The alpha simply checked it, then laid it on the table, still in sight.  
  
“I’ve come to ask you to reconsider my offer.” Ra’s sipped his drink. “This has gone on long enough, don’t you think, Jason.”  
  
“What, getting frustrated that I haven’t come crawling back like a worm, the way you thought I would? That I have actual willpower?” Jason tried to smirk, but it looked more like a sneer.  
  
“I would call it stubbornness,” Ra’s said, offhanded. “That you have now paid the ultimate price for.”  
  
Jason shouldn’t have been surprised. Of course Ra’s was keeping an eye on him, had his feelers in even Jason’s most private, personal affairs.  
  
“The baby…they didn’t die because I wasn’t with you, it wasn’t…sometimes…these things just…” He wondered if the air, Ra’s scent, was messing with his ability to think straight. Or, if it was a lingering effect of grief.  
  
Ra’s waited for him to finish, filled in the space when he didn’t. “Are you so sure about this, that you’re willing to bet your remaining pups lives on it?” He put the cup down. “I can smell the despair on you, Jason. You’re trying to ‘white-knuckle’ through the pain, but continuing in your current condition it will only lead to more heart break.”  
  
Ra’s reached across the table before Jason could stop him, pulled down the line of his turtleneck to see the latest mark. “These…sad imitations will not help.” Ra’s told him, brushing indented teeth marks with his fingers. “Timothy is, will only ever be, a beta. And even if he wasn’t, you have already been claimed. You will only find fulfillment with me.”  
  
“Feels about the same to me. Better, even, when he does it.” Jason said, stiffly, willing himself to remain totally unreadable as he was touched.  
  
“Perhaps you’ve just forgotten what it’s like,” Ra’s said, and his voice was becoming almost like an alluring purr. “You bared your neck so eagerly for me, towards the end.”  
  
Jason slapped his hand away, but Ra’s again slipped past his defenses without much trouble. Touched his cheek, down to his neck, squeezing, and Jason was suddenly malleable under his palm.  
  
“You’ve already lost one.” Ra’s said, leaning in. His mouth rested uncomfortably close to Jason’s ear. His breath finally pulled a revealing shudder from the omega. “Do you intend to lose the others as well? Or will you swallow your pride, and do what’s in the best interest of your litter? Parenting, if you do not know, often revolves around the willingness to sacrifice. Is resisting me for the novelty of it, worth more than their lives?”  
  
It was those words that kept Jason still as Ra’s scented him, dragged his cheek against Jason’s, before kissing him there, then down to his jaw, and finally, neck. Jason was trembling, when Ra’s lips rested on the skin, felt the points of his teeth just barely poking him.  
  
Just then, someone knocked at the door.


	6. Chapter 6

When Jason refocused, he was pressed flat against the table, firm hand around his neck, holding him down. He knew he should fight, but there was no strength in his body, and if he was honest, he felt little drive to actually struggle against his situation, or the alpha holding him down. He was having trouble remembering why he’d wanted to get up so badly in the first place, comfortable as he was.  
  
The fingers nearest to his scent glands rubbed slightly, and Jason fell more and more relaxed, ready to surrender to whatever euphoria was allowed to him.  
  
Then he heard another knock at the door.  
  
“I know you’re ho—open the fucking—,” Someone called, voice covered in a thin film of static as it was played through Jason’s security feed. Something he’d installed in an attempt to feel safe.  
  
The idea seemed silly now. There was nowhere his— _Ra’s_ could not reach him.  
  
Still holding him down, Ra’s stood. The alpha knocked the chair he’d been sitting in out of the way so he could nestle up behind Jason, and the younger man shuddered when he felt Ra’s lower body press against his. He caught a glance of the older mans face, who was looking down at Jason like he was a particularly magnificent beast he’d managed to tame.  
  
With his free hand, the alpha trailed under him, brushing the small bump of Jason’s belly with a surprising delicacy. He began to purr, a deep, rumbling noise, and the sound made Jason feel safe. He keened when the alpha pressed closer to him, wetness gathering between his legs. His hips wiggled on their own, his whole body aching to be touched. Suddenly he was acutely aware how long it had been, how much time he’d spent away from, how much he’d missed his alpha—  
  
The thought sent a chill down his spine.  
  
The person at the door was talking loudly now, but everything was all blurring together, like Jason was drunk, and he couldn’t quite make out the words.  
  
“What’s wro— with y—? Seriousl—. You think— just cause he do—n’t complain ab— it, you can treat him howe— you wa—?” Someone snapped, loud enough now to also be heard through the door. “I know th— is a difficult concept f— you, but you’re not t— only one who’s strugg— righ— now, Jas—. A— he’s so worried ab— you, he’s not— taking care of—“  
  
“So much family tension.” Ra’s tsked. “The detective truly is a pack head lacking in skill.”  
  
He squeezed Jason’s neck, eliciting a low, drawn-out whine. There was a long pause at the door.  
  
Then the knocking sounded more like frantic pounding. “Ja—? Is someone—th—“  
  
“I suppose I can’t blame you for being so stubborn if this is your idea of a functioning pack. Of course you’d be a bit hesitant, not knowing anything else. It just pains me to know how much happier you would be if you let go of your pride and simply took your place at my feet.” The hand on his belly trailed lower, until Ra’s was rubbing his cocklet through his maternity jeans, then feeling along the indent of his cunt. Unable to stop himself, the omega moaned, barely resisting the urge to grind himself into his alphas palm.“I promise there will be no greater euphoria, then when you finally submit to me. Taking your true place as my Qamar. Joining your real pack. Accepting your only alpha.”  
  
The alpha pressed his lips against Jason’s ear. “And you will accept me. No matter how much you deny it or try to fight, all your resistance will be for nothing. You’ll come to me. You’ll offer your neck. Then you’ll roll onto your belly, begging me to breed your cunt the way you were made for. And this time, you won’t be able to leave afterwards. That’s how this ends, Jason. The only way it can.”  
  
Jason felt something slip into the breast pocket of his leather jacket. Then the alpha pulled open Jason’s turtleneck so roughly it ripped, before gently latching his mouth on the revealed skin. But instead of biting, Ra’s simply nipped and sucked the area. Jason went completely limp under him, as if in surrender. His eyes rolled back. He was pretty sure he was drooling. His legs spread as much as they were able in their current state, no doubt making display of the growing wet spot.  
  
When he felt tent of Ra’s pants grind against him, he almost cried out in relief.  
  
He barely heard the sound of the doorknob being rattled.  
  
*  
  
_Dick had confronted him before.  
_  
_Tim and Jason never messed around in the cave. Usually too busy, and too many cameras. But one day, they’d been alone, in the middle of a slow spot with a case, needing the computer to process some data, and Tim and looked at him with a…previously unseen mischievousness in his eyes._  
  
_“Bruce did…a pretty good job, with surveillance in the cave. But there’s still a few blindspots.” The younger man told him, in an attempted casual tone, like he was just trying to be helpfully informative, rather than blatantly suggestive.  
_  
_“Oh?” Jason had said, raising his brows. He’d never seen this side of Tim before. He kind of liked it. “Care to take a guy spelunking?”_  
  
_Which is how Jason ended up sucking his dick in the extended garage, where all Bruce’s old model vehicles were laid to rest. They hid in a natural indent of the caves walls, totally out of view of the cameras. Every time Tim made a muffled noise into his hand, Jason could feel himself getting a little wetter, occasionally rolling his hips, but not getting any desired friction. Vaguely, he fantasized what it’d be like to have Tim inside him. Wondered if he could convince Tim to break into one of the cars, crawl into the back seat, and—_  
  
_It’d been pretty hot, up until they heard Bruce’s voice across the room, near the door. “Tim? Jason? Anyone here?” he called._  
  
_Tim scrambled to pull his pants up, Jason quickly wiping his mouth of any suspicious fluids. They had a wordless argument with each other, about which one should reveal themselves. They’d relied mostly on hand gestures, some of them crude, mostly from Jason. The sound of Bruce’s voice got closer, and Tim lost when Jason threw him under the bus, shoving him a bit into the older mans line of view._  
  
_They were both lucky, that being Robin cultivated some level of acting skills. Tim was totally convincing as he played the entire matter off._  
  
_“Tim? Why’d you come down to the old garage?” Bruce asked.  
_  
_“Nostalgia.” Tim said, easily. “Jason and I were talking about the old models while we waited for the samples, so I came down to look at them.”_  
  
_Bruce hummed. “Did he come with you?”_  
  
_“For a bit,” Tim said. “But then he said something about wanting to take up spelunking, and wandered off. He’ll be back soon.”_  
  
_Jason snorted, then covered his mouth to avoid making further noise. Their voices got further away, then disappeared completely. The lights flicked off._  
  
_**You’re the worst.** _  
  
_Tim texted him, a few minutes later.  
_  
**_And yet you can’t get enough. I’ll be up in 5 ;)_**  
  
_**I still have an erection, Jason. Do you know how observant Bruce is. He definitely saw. How am I supposed to look him in the eye now?** _  
  
_Jason laughed loud enough that it echoed off the walls._  
  
**_Well I still had your jizz in my mouth, which would’ve been way more suspicious. He probably just thinks you’ve got a thing for old cars. And…I’ll finish you off later. ;))_**  
  
_He waited a seconds._  
  
**_Speaking of, what do you think about in one of the backseats? Some of those models are actually pretty roomy..._**  
  
_Tim didn’t respond, and Jason wondered if he’d accidentally made Tim’s current ‘problem’ worse, and laughed again at the thought. Then he waited an appropriate amount of time, before making his way back, using his phones flashlight. But as he got to the stairs, he found Dick waiting for him.  
_  
_“Whoa.” Jason said, “Bruce is back now, dude. You gotta get out of the habit of the whole, ‘Batman lurking in the shadows’, thing. It doesn’t suit you.”  
_  
_Dick hadn’t humored him. “What’s going on with you two.”_  
  
_Jason tried to keep his smile steady. “Going on…?”_  
  
_“Between you and Tim. We’re detectives, Jason. You really think nobody notices when you two just…break off from the group for no reason?” Dick asked. “Or how different you act around each other, these days?”_  
  
_Jason was having a hard time keeping his demeanor light. “There wasn’t really a group to break off from, before you and B showed up…and what can I say, I guess we really bonded, being the only two Robins to actually **believe** Bruce would come back.” He reveled just a bit in the way Dick flinched. “Plus, I mean, we are, you know, partners.”_  
  
_“Yeah, so I’ve been hearing.” Dick said, crossing his arms, like he had some kind of authority in Jason’s life. Like his opinions held any weight in what Jason chose to do in his free time. “I’m just wondering what kind, exactly.”  
_  
_Jason held his ground. “I don’t really think that’s any of your business, birdbrain.”_  
  
_“It is if you’re messing around with my brother for kicks,” Dick said, sharper than before._  
  
_The words stung a bit, if Jason was honest. Confirmation that he was outside whatever circle Dick kept close to his heart, that he was seen as a deviant and a threat, didn’t exactly feel great._  
  
_Even when Jason was apart of the pack, he was still the odd man out. Lone wolf._  
  
_Jason started making his way up the stairs to pass him. “Tim’s old enough to make his own decisions. And I know you probably won’t believe this, but jerking somebodies chain ‘that way’ isn’t really my thing. We’re both consenting adults, and what we—”_  
  
_“You’ve been doing it to Bruce since the minute you got back. Not ‘like that’. But, you have.” Dick said, and his voice was low. Accusatory. “Messing with his head, because you know you can.”  
_  
_Jason stopped, stared Dick down. “That was different.” Jason said, carefully. “And you know it.”_  
  
_Then he kept walking.  
_  
_“Tim’s in love with you.” Dick told him, and Jason nearly tripped on the stairs, but didn’t turn around. “I can tell. He hasn’t told me any specifics, but anytime he talks about you…” Dick’s voice got softer. “It’s obvious.”_  
  
_“That…sounds like Tim’s issue to work out.” Jason said, carefully, though he barely heard the words over how loud his heart was beating._  
  
_Dick laughed, but it sounded hollow, and he shook his head. “You would say that. Since you don’t understand what being in a pack even means.” His voice became sharp, seeping with bitterness, and Jason could only imagine the look that was being sent his way. “I’ll spell it out for you, Jason. Stop being selfish and break it off. Not just for him, but everyone's sake. Before you do something that effects all of us.”_  
  
_Jason tried to ignore the alpha, but the final words spoken hit right at his core._  
  
_“You’re the one who said you were ready to rejoin our pack. So, start acting like it.”_  
  
*  
  
With his scent glands held in Ra’s powerful hand, Jason was completely docile against the table even as the door was forced open. The only reaction he gave was tilting his head enough to glance at who entered the room.  
  
Dick Grayson was the last person he would’ve expected to see.  
  
The alpha was staring back at him in cold horror. Then Ra’s squeezed harder, everything blurred together, and he could no longer see Dick clearly.  
  
“Get away from him,” The words came from Dick’s direction, but the voice didn’t sound like his. Too low, dangerous. “Right now.”  
  
Knowing that someone from his pack was there should’ve put him at ease, but for some reason, it was only Ra’s hand on his neck that kept the omega calm. The room was suffocatingly thick with an outsiders musk, like Dick was the intruder upon his previously undisturbed nest.  
  
Everything about the situation was confused, twisted, wrong.  
  
He heard Ra’s give a short laugh, then the alpha ground his hips into Jason’s ass. The omega in him keened, eyes rolling back, making a small, pleading noise.  
  
“It doesn’t seem he wants me to,” Ra’s said, releasing his neck for a moment to stroke his hair like he was rewarding a dog, “I’m simply fulfilling my duties as his alpha and pack head. Poor thing seems to have been neglected under your care. Does your pack not believe, in tending to their ome—”  
  
“Shut up.” He could hear the sound of labored breathing, barely restrained rage. “I’m serious.”  
  
“And what will you do, if I refuse?” Ra’s shook his head. Jason saw, bleary, as the alpha ran a hand over his own neck, tracing the unfamiliar slashes Jason had been considering earlier. “You’ve already proved you do not have the strength to follow through with your threats. You are weak. Just like your pack head raised you to be.”  
  
“Give him back,” Dick growled. “Or I swear I’ll—“  
  
He heard Ra’s snort under his breath, then felt the alpha’s lips against his cheek as if giving him a goodbye kiss. “A true alpha does not demand, he simply takes.”  
  
Then the alpha was pulling Jason up, before pushing him forward on useless legs. Dick reacted instantly, lunging to catch him before he hit the ground, using his own body as a shield. He quickly readjusted after doing so, curling himself over and around Jason, covering him as much as his smaller frame would allow.  
  
When Ra’s approached, Dick simply pressed closer to him. It was a submissive, defensive, heavily instinctual action, with the focus of protecting Jason and his pups, even at risk to himself. Jason should’ve felt safe, but instead, he felt growing unease, aching for it to be a different alpha on top of him.  
  
The thought was followed only by shame.  
  
There was a slight added pressure, and Jason titled his head to get a slight view from where Dick shielded him. Ra’s had placed his foot on the smaller alphas back, clearly goading, but Dick only went tense, held Jason closer.  
  
The deepest, most instinctual part of him felt warm arousal, watching his alpha dominate another, though the rest of him was filled with self directed disgust. Ra’s smiled at Jason where Dick could not see, and his eyes were bright, as if he could hear all his intimate thoughts, read his soul.  
  
“Here is your chance. Prove that you are willing to do anything, for the sake of your family. Take back what is yours, with teeth and blood.” But the other alpha did nothing in response, and eventually Ra’s removed his foot. He gave Jason one final, parting look, then made his way to the door. “That is what I thought.”  
  
When he was finally gone, Jason tried not to think about how much he wished to follow.  
  
*  
  
_Dick had confronted him before._  
  
_“He’s not…ready.” They hadn’t known he was there at first. “He’s still killing people, Bruce. Maybe not as often or as much, but he’s still—“_  
  
_“I don’t think he’s going to stop, Dick.” Bruce said, and his voice was soft. “What do you expect me to do…? Keep him on the outside, for the rest of his life…? Besides…once he’s with us again, maybe we can change his mind. Being with Damian…I think…I think I’ve been going about this, all wrong. He needs to be with us again. With his pack. With his…family.”_  
  
_“What if you’re not wrong? What if you’re letting someone back in who isn’t ready?” Dick said. “He’s a risk to all of us. Dangerous. Lethal—“_  
  
_Jason had just snorted, made himself known. Listening to much more was seriously going to make him angry. “Please. Like I’m the only one you’re acquainted with, who takes out the trash permanently every now and then. I’m just the only one who seems to be treated like a pariah.” Then he smiled, but behind it there was only thinly veiled bitterness. “Star doesn’t seem to have fallen from your favor, for example.”  
_  
_Dick’s nostrils flared. A tell. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you dare, bring her into this. I don’t know what you two have been doing, but—“_  
  
_“Just doing what you don’t have the stomach for.” Jason winked, and he could see the tension in the alpha, building. “And if you have something to say, do it to my face, next time.”  
_  
_“No need for next time,” Dick hissed, body postured like he was preparing to lunge. “Let’s settle this right now.”  
_  
_“Bring it, big boy.” Jason spread his arms wide, made a invitational gesture for a fight.  
_  
_Bruce snarled, stepped between them. “Enough. We’re a team. One pack. Or we will be, soon.” He snapped his head towards each of them, making his authority known. “We will work together, not against each other.”_  
  
_But when they were alone, Dick made his feelings clear._  
  
_“You’re not ready.” He said, under his breath as they walked towards the door. “And if you’re not careful, you’re going to get someone hurt.”_  
  
*  
  
Dick only released him when Jason had returned to himself enough to request it, wiggling in his nearly suffocating embrace. At first the alpha was hesitant to do so, growling softly under his breath at the movements.  
  
“Dick,” Jason huffed, putting his hand on the older mans chest to push him back a bit. “I’m fine. Ok? I’m fine. All good. You can stop.”  
  
At first the alpha did not respond at all, but after a long moment, he pulled back, just a little.  
  
Dick leaned over to scent him as soon as the opportunity presented itself, and Jason could count on half a hand the amount of times that had happened between them, since his return from the dead. He’d also pumped the air full with his musk within 5 minutes of their solitude, as if trying to erase all traces of Ra’s presence.  
  
The alpha was scared, Jason realized.  
  
“Are you hurt anywhere?” Dick asked, pulling the turtleneck fabric away, inspecting his neck. Jason didn’t miss the way his eyes dropped to Jason’s lower half. “Did he…”  
  
“No.” Jason answered, on autopilot, batting his hand away. “Stop it. I told you, I’m fine. Nothing happened.”  
  
But the alpha didn’t appear to be listening to him. Not really. To caught up, in whatever scenario he was imagining.  
  
“Jason…” Dick said the words like he was afraid of the answer. “Has he…been here before? Were you hiding it from us, this whole time? Is…is that why you wanted to live alone…?”  
  
Jason shook his head. “Today I got home from my…appointment…and he was just…there. He knew about—“ Jason cut himself off in the knick of time. Bit his tongue to keep quiet.  
  
“Knew about what, Jason?” Dick asked, concern growing every second Jason didn’t answer. Dick waited only a bit more, then pulled out his phone. “I’m calling Bruce. If he’s still in the area, we’ll be able to—“  
  
Jason snatched the object out of his hand before he’d even stopped to think it through. “Don’t you dare.” He hissed. “Don’t you dare tell Bruce about this. Do you have any idea, how hard it was for me to convince him to let me be on my own? To have my own life, be my own man? It’s none of his business, anyways. And it’s definitely not yours.”  
  
Dick looked like he’d been slapped. “How can you say that…we’re your—“  
  
“My, what, exactly? Alphas? Yeah, sure.” Jason snorted. “What, were you coming to check on me? See how I was doing, finally? Bring me a care package? No, that wasn’t it. You’ve been avoiding me as best you could since the minute I got back. Why the sudden change of heart, anyways? What did you really come over here for, Dick? Cause it didn’t sound like a typical house call.”  
  
The alpha looked at him, eyes round as a child’s, but eventually, he tore his gaze away, like he was ashamed. “I was upset. With you. Because I thought…it seemed like you…were…”  
  
Jason raised his eyebrows. “Were…?”  
  
“It doesn’t matter.” Dick said, not looking at him. “I was wrong. I didn’t understand the situation.”  
  
“But you do now, huh.” Jason asked, flatly. The day was starting to catch up to him, and he was beginning to buckle under everything’s weight. “Well, I’m sooo glad you understand now. That makes it alll worth it. Hope this whole mess has all been really eye opening, enlightening, on my situation.”  
  
Jason pushed himself up, and Dick mirrored the action, uncharastically clumsy as he did so. Jason made his way towards the bedroom, and Dick followed him closely, like he was afraid to let him out of sight.  
  
“Jason. You can’t…stay here. You can’t live by yourself anymore, either. He broke through our system. And Oracle didn’t contact anyone, which means she doesn’t even know.” Dick whispered. “You got out of this by pure dumb luck.”  
  
Jason’s nostrils flared. “Dumb lucks been working for me just fine, so far.”  
  
He opened his bedroom door, and tried to close it, but Dick had blocked the way before he could.  The alpha put his hand on Jason’s shoulder, trying to keep him in place, get him to listen. “You can’t stay here alone. Seriously. I won’t let you.”  
  
“Let me…?” Jason snapped his head in Dick’s direction. Bared his teeth, a clear warning sign. If pressed much further, Jason would protect himself however he needed to. “I’m an adult. I’m making the choice to get my shit, and move somewhere else, alone. And there isn’t jack- _fuck_ you can do to stop me.”  
  
“I can tell Bruce. Or—“ Jason grabbed him by the shirt collar, slammed him against the wall. Dick took a sharp breath, but otherwise remained totally calm. “Or…you let me stay with you, we both pack you up, figure this out, and it will all be our secret.” A pause. “Please, little wing. Work with me, just a bit.”   
  
Jason hadn’t heard that nickname since before he died.  He narrowed his eyes. “Why did you come here, Dick. Tell me. Tell me what you actually wanted to say, no bullshit.”  
  
Dick pursed his lips. “I was upset, that you blew Tim off today. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I didn’t mean what I said, the way I said it—”  
  
Jason pressed closer, lowered his voice dangerously. “What were you going to say, word for word.”  
  
The alpha avoided his eyes again. “I was going to say, I think…you should consider…what this is like, for Tim. You’re not…the only one who got hurt. He…needs to be able to focus on taking care of himself. And he can’t do that…if he’s worried about you. If you’ve got him on the line still. It’s cruel, to say you don’t want him involved, but then to keep…pulling him back in, whenever it’s convenient for you. He won’t complain, but it’s not good for him.” He looked at Jason, a bit apologetic. “Let him go. Let him move on. Let him try to forget. I think…it’ll be for the best, if you do. It’s not like you feel the same way, right, Jason?”  
  
Jason released Dick’s shirt, slowly, feeling oddly numb as he mulled over the words, knowing that they were true. He had been selfish, clinging to Tim as he struggled not to drown, hadn’t considered if he was dragging the younger man down with him.  
  
Whatever could’ve existed between them before, could never happen now. It was too late. He was too broken. And Tim deserved…so much more than what he had to offer.  
  
He had to let him go, completely, this time.  
  
Jason knew it was true, but actively thinking the words made him feel an odd, chilling weight build in his chest, hang heavy on his heart.  
  
When he didn’t say anything, the older man prompted him again. “Right, Jason…?”  
  
“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” he said, taking a step back. He couldn’t seem to find his voice, sounded so much softer than normal. “I don’t.” He scratched his cheek, looking at the floor. He was a big man, but for some reason, he felt small, vulnerable. “I’ve gotta pack.”  
  
Then Jason headed into the bedroom, this time not arguing when the alpha followed him.  
  
As Jason mindlessly began to gather his things, he wondered how much more he could lose, before the day was over.  
  
*  
  
_Dick had confronted him before._  
  
_Jason hadn’t known it back then, but it would be the last time they saw each other, before he died._  
  
_The alpha hadn’t released him until they were a good 10 blocks from the drug dealers who had very nearly gunned Jason down. His side was bleeding where one of their bullets had managed to graze him, making the red of Robin’s tunic even darker._  
  
_Jason barely felt it._  
  
_“What the hell was that?” Dick had spat at him, furious. But despite his tone, he was hovering, looking over Jason with terrified eyes. It made the younger man feel oddly self conscious, heat gathering under his mask. “Do you have a death wish?”_  
  
_“If I did, I don’t think I’d have been trying so hard **not** to get hit,” Jason had rolled out of the alphas reach, brushed himself off, stood, and stretched. “Thanks for the rescue, but I’m all good now, so—” _  
  
_“All good?” Dick grabbed him by the shoulder, squeezing. “You almost just got yourself killed.”_  
  
_“Tragic, I know.” Jason said, slipping from his hold. He had pulled out his grappling gun, prepared it for launch. “Better luck next time, I guess.”_  
  
_“That’s not funny.” Dick had said, trailing behind him. “I don’t know where all this attitude came from, little wing, but if you’re upset, or if somethings going on with Bruce, we can—“_  
  
_“Everything’s great. Just because you two were always butting heads, doesn’t mean we are. I’m not you. I’m my own man.” Jason had snapped. “And you’re not even really in the pack anymore, so what do you care?”_  
  
_Everything he’d been hiding under the surface had been very nearly revealed. Except, he seemed to have thrown the older man off his tracks. Hit something fragile, vulnerable. Made him uncertain of himself._  
  
_“Sorry,” Dick said. “I just…I thought, if you needed to…”_  
  
_“Talk? With you? Why would I, even if I did need to?” Jason narrowed his eyes. “I don’t **know** you. You talk about being open, becoming close, being a pack, but then you’re never around. I don’t need to be preached at by the guy who’s already forgotten where he came from. Who abandoned his family. Who’s avoiding the people that love him like the plague. You can hate me all you want for taking your place, but at the end of the day, you’re the one who chose to leave. Is choosing to stay gone.” _  
  
_“I don’t hate you,” Dick said quickly. “And I’m not, avoiding…I just…”_  
  
_Jason quirked a brow, but when Dick hadn’t followed up with anything, he’d shot his line for the nearby roof, prepared to leap from the edge. Dick had watched him from a distance._  
  
_Called out, only once. “He’s wrong, you know. Keeping everything to yourself won’t make you stronger. It’ll kill you, in the end.”_  
  
_Neither of them had known just how right he’d been._  
  
*  
  
They began in silence. But Dick, a natural born socializer, just couldn’t help himself.   
  
“Did you know he was here…when you got in the apartment?” There wasn’t much for Dick to actually pack, most of Jason’s essentials being able to fit into a duffle-bag, so he’d assigned the alpha a spot on the bed, where he hoped the older man stayed quietly through the remainder of their time.  
  
He could see Dick go rigid, as he packed his guns. Under different circumstances, Jason probably would’ve laughed, teased him about it.  
  
“Not at first. I thought he was…he smelled just like Bruce.” Jason’s voice gave away his confusion. Dick didn’t seem to have trouble understanding, however, and the younger man watched the color drain from the alphas face.  
  
“He…smells like your pack head…” Dick explained, quietly. “That’s why…”  
  
Jason suddenly felt as ill as Dick looked.  
  
He went back to just packing for a bit.  
  
Eventually, Dick cleared his throat, and Jason already felt annoyed, that his predecessor suffered from a constant need to be talking. “Are you sure,” he said. “You don’t need me to, do anything—“  
  
“I’ve got it covered,” Jason said. “You can just sit there, relax, and look pretty.”  
  
Dick lasted maybe four minutes before he started up again.  
  
“Tim told me you’re having triplets? That’s nice. At least things will always be interesting, right?” Jason froze, then slowly resumed what he was doing. Dick seemed to have stopped as well, noticing he’d stumbled upon something of importance, but not knowing exactly what. “Right, Jason…?” He repeated, uncertainly.  
  
Jason sighed. “Just…two, now.” he said, not looking up. “Found out today.”  
  
He went back to to the task at hand. Dick stood, took a step towards him, then stopped. Paced for a minute. Seemed to be unable to remain calm in light of the information Jason had divulged. “Jesus, Jay...why didn’t you...someone would’ve...” Then he stopped. “You were calling Tim to tell him.” Dick realized. “But you couldn’t do it…”  
  
“It’s not something he needs to worry about,” Jason said, carefully.  
  
“He’s the father!” Dick argued, before softening his voice. “I mean, probably…he has a right to…be involved, anyways.”  
  
“You just gave me a whole speech on how I shouldn’t involve him,” Jason said flatly. He was started to feel anxious, annoyed, an animal continuously trapped in a corner. He was so tired.  
  
He wasn’t ready to talk, about any of it. Not yet. And not with Dick, of all people.  
  
Dick fumbled a bit, rubbed the back of his neck. “I…I just don’t like if you’re telling him one thing but showing another. But he should know…he should have a say, if he wants. He’s the father. Or at least, he’s more of the father than—“  
  
“Don’t,” Jason hissed, “Don’t you dare finish that thought.”  
  
“I just think—“ But Dick never did get to make his case.  
  
“What’s going on.”  
  
Both of them froze.  
  
Jason was suddenly thankful he’d had the presence of mind to change his clothing, open the windows to air out the space. Bruce stood in the doorway, overlooking the scene with a detectives eye. From how he was presenting himself, Jason was pretty sure the older man was on his way home from the office, had probably decided to take a detour and check up on Jason after his appointment.  
  
“Hey B,” He said easily. “Still don’t know how to call first, huh?”  
  
Normally, Bruce might’ve looked a bit sheepish. But he saw the pieces, was trying to put the scene together. His eyes narrowed just a bit. “Are you going somew—”  
  
“I’m staying with Dick,” Jason said, and both Bruce, and Dick, snapped their heads to look at him in disbelief. “In Blüdhaven, for a little bit. Get some, well, not really fresh, but…different air.”  
  
The idea of Jason and Dick spending time together, alone, seemed so otherworldly it must have distracted away from whatever theories Bruce had been in the middle of assembling.  
  
“You didn’t say anything about traveling.” Bruce answered slowly, looking between the two of them, confusion just under the surface.  
  
“I didn’t want you to worry about it. And I wasn’t actually sure I was gonna go anywhere.” Jason put on his most believable smile, stepped on stage like it was second nature. “Kind of a last minute decision, really. I just mentioned feeling some cabin fever, and Dick was nice enough to take me in for a bit.”  
  
“I see…” Bruce cleared his throat, seemed to come to terms with the revealed information. “And your appointment…?”  
  
Jason was aware of the way Dick’s posture clenched just a little, and he prayed Bruce was too thrown off to notice. “I’m the picture of health.” He said, zipping his bag shut, and he tried not to look surprised, when Dick appeared practically from thin air and picked it up for him, hand held out to help the omega to his feet.  
  
“We should probably head out, soon, if we want to beat traffic,” Dick said, not quite looking at Jason. His voice seemed a bit forced, and Jason wondered if he was upset that he’d just become involved in such a profound lie to their pack head. “I’m gonna go get the car warmed up…come down whenever you’re ready.”  
  
“Will do,” Jason replied.  
  
Bruce and Dick exchanged glances as the younger man left, brushing shoulders in a quick, informal scenting. Maybe the younger alpha hoped, that by leaving them alone, Jason would divulge some of the truth on his own, let him off the hook. Tough luck, the omega thought.  
  
Then Bruce was focused on him again, seemed to be battling with giving Jason his agency, and picking at the flaws in his story. “You’re sure…everything’s…ok?”  
  
“Everything’s fine, B.” Jason shrugged, looked towards the window. He’d liked the apartment, the view of the small park it overlooked, his neighbors who left him baked goods, the stray animals that found their way to his fire escape. Things to add to the already long list of what Ra’s had taken from him. “I just…want a little…something different. Change of pace. Fresh air. That type of thing. And I think…it’ll be good…if I get a little distance between me and…Gotham, right now.”  
  
Bruce nodded slowly. “I…understand.” He shifted his weight. “Blüdhavens, a bit far, though…Dick is the only one…stationed that way. If something happens…”  
  
Jason just laughed. “It’s barely 30 minutes away, and that’s for someone who doesn’t own a bat-plane. You’re worrying too much, old man.” He pat Bruce’s shoulder, but was careful not to get too close. Was afraid, of whatever potential lingering scents were still on him. Noted, with a hint of despair, how sour Bruce smelled to his own nose. Like they were strangers. “Now if you don’t mind, I need to finish grabbing some stuff. I’ll ping you when we get there, ok?”  
  
“Of course.” Bruce made his way toward the door, and Jason was suddenly aware how grateful he was that Dick hadn’t done any noticeable damage from his previous forceful entrance. “I’m going to go say goodbye to Dick. We haven’t seen each other recently.”  
  
“Sure,” Jason said, praying that his predecessor wasn’t going to throw a wrench in his plan somehow. “I’ll be down in five.”  
  
Bruce paused right before he left, looking at Jason. “If something was wrong…you know, you can tell me anything, right, chum?”  
  
Jason smiled best he could, but the muscles were trembling a bit, threatened to show what what was underneath. A smaller, weaker part of him wanted to come undone, display his wounds, reveal everything, and take solace in the warm embrace of his pack head, of his father.  
  
But he knew deep down he couldn’t. He knew what he needed to do now, gears in his head turning. He would be the one to take responsibility. He would be the one to do what had to be done. He would be the one to end it.  
  
Everything was already set in motion.  
  
So instead, Jason just forced himself to smile brighter. “Yeah, B. Of course.”  
  
Soon, it would all be over.

**Author's Note:**

> qumar is moon in arabic but in the world is a double meaning for omega whereas alphas would be the word for sun


End file.
